President Donald Trump said Iran will face “something bad” if it doesn’t quickly accept a US proposal over its nuclear program, while officials in Tehran called the the US messaging “confusing and contradictory.”
“They have a proposal, more importantly they know they have to move quickly or something bad — something bad’s going to happen,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from a visit to the Middle East.
The president didn’t provide details on the proposal, which follows talks led by his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and mediated by Oman. The most recent session was Sunday.
Iran’s lead negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said in a post on X later Friday that the country hasn’t received a written proposal.
“In the meantime, the messaging we — and the world — continue to receive is confusing and contradictory,” he wrote. Earlier, Araghchi had said, “What the parties to the negotiations say in the media is not the same as what they say behind closed doors.”
Araghchi also repeated his insistence that Iran retain some enrichment capacity, which has been a major sticking point. US officials have given conflicting messages on the levels of uranium enrichment they would accept.
Trump has repeatedly threatened military action against Iran if Tehran doesn’t reach a deal to limit its atomic work in exchange for relief from crippling US sanctions. Iran says its program is peaceful but it’s long faced suspicion that it could be weaponized.
Tehran also sent negotiators to Istanbul on Friday to discuss nuclear issues and sanctions with the European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from in his first term.
“We will meet again if necessary to continue talks,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on X, adding that Iran, the UK, France and Germany were “determined to sustain and make the best use of diplomacy.”
During his Mideast visit, Trump suggested that the US is moving closer to an agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear activities even as he has sought to ramp up pressure on the country, warning that his offer will not remain on the table indefinitely.
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