President Donald Trump declared Sunday that the United States holds an unassailable position in ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran, announcing that American negotiators would no longer travel abroad for talks and that Tehran must now initiate contact on Washington’s terms.
Speaking in an interview on Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing, hours after a foiled assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the President spoke with unusual candor about the state of diplomacy with the Islamic Republic, signaling a sharp shift in negotiating posture.
Trump confirmed that he had recalled the American delegation that had been traveling to Pakistan-mediated talks, expressing frustration at the logistical burden placed on U.S. officials. “The flight is about 17 hours,” Trump said. “I said, when is this meeting taking place? It was going to be on Tuesday and it was Saturday. They’re leaving, and by the time they get there it’s hours and hours of flying. I said, we’re not doing this anymore.”
The President was unequivocal about where the balance of power in the negotiations now sits. “We have all the cards,” Trump stated flatly. “If they want to talk, they can come to us or they can call us. You know, this is a telephone. We have secure lines, and if they like, we’re not sending people to travel 18 hours.”
Trump credited Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Field Marshal for their mediation efforts, calling them “great people” who “really tried,” but made clear their involvement would continue only by phone going forward.
The announcement came as Trump provided a sweeping assessment of Iran’s dramatically degraded military and economic condition. He described the destruction of Iran’s navy in its entirety, the elimination of its air force, the dismantling of roughly 75 percent of its missile production facilities, and damage to approximately 82 percent of its drone manufacturing capability. He further warned that Iran’s oil production infrastructure was days away from a catastrophic internal collapse due to an effective naval blockade preventing the export and storage of crude.
Despite the hardened tone, Trump left a diplomatic off-ramp visible, saying the United States was willing to assist Iran’s development provided one condition was met unconditionally. “They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “Other than that, there is no reason to meet.”
The President framed his position as one borne not of aggression but of strategic patience, noting that previous administrations had failed to confront Iran’s nuclear ambitions across nearly five decades. “It should have been done by other presidents,” he said. “47 years it’s been going on, and nobody did anything about it….See More
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