Iran ‘getting more aggressive over nukes’: Donald Trump

Benjamin Netanyahu tells Donald Trump nuclear talks are ‘futile’ as the US President admits Tehran’s attitude has hardened.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected the latest proposal for a nuclear deal. Picture: AFP.

Iran has become more aggressive in talks with Washington over its nuclear program, Donald Trump has asserted, as Benjamin Netanyahu warned the US President Tehran was “playing” the US negotiators.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr Trump said Iran’s attitude had hardened in recent days as the two sides remain locked in a standoff over uranium enrichment.

“Iran is acting much differently in negotiations than it did just days ago,” Mr Trump said.

“Much more aggressive. It’s surprising to me. It’s disappointing, but we are set to meet again tomorrow – we’ll see.”

Mr Trump’s interview with Fox came after a tense conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, in which the Israeli Prime Minister reportedly told his US counterpart the talks were futile.

“Iran is playing you guys and all they’re trying to do is buy time,” Mr Netanyahu said, according to Israel’s state broadcaster Kan.

Kan reports that Mr Trump responded: “Your statements about attacking Iran are not helping. We’re working on a deal.”

Kan also reported that Israel was readying for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities if the talks failed.

“The Air Force and other IDF branches are continuing preparations for the attack. In recent weeks, the Air Force has gained operational experience in long-range strikes when Israel attacked in Yemen, 2,000 kilometres from Israeli territory – greater than the distance to Iran,” Kan reported on its website.

Atomic enrichment facilities at Iran’s Natanz nuclear power plant. Picture; AFP.

Iran claims the next round of talks with Washington are planned for Sunday as European powers and the United States submitted a censure motion to the UN’s nuclear watchdog in an effort to ramp up pressure on Tehran.

Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

“The next round of Iran-US indirect talks is being planned for next Sunday in Muscat,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from mediator Oman, which has hosted some of the previous rounds, while Washington has said the talks could be held as early as Thursday.

The two sides have held five rounds of negotiations since April, the highest level contact since President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from a 2015 nuclear accord during his first term.

Iran’s top negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, will be attending the annual Oslo Forum in Norway on Thursday, his office said.

On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received “elements” of a US proposal for an agreement, which Mr Araghchi has criticised for its “ambiguities”.

Tehran has said the offer failed to include issues raised in previous negotiations including the lifting of sanctions – a key demand for Tehran.

On Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Baqaei said Iran would present a “reasonable, logical and balanced” counter-proposal.

Mr Trump has said that the next round of talks could make it clear if a nuclear deal is possible to avoid military action.

In a key sticking point, Tehran has defended its right to enrich uranium as “non-negotiable”, while Washington called any Iranian enrichment a “red line”.

Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 per cent, far above the 3.67-per cent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 per cent needed for a nuclear warhead.

In an interview published on Tuesday, Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said there was no “deadlock” in the talks, and the next round would be the first in which the parties discuss “any written material”.

“Any negotiations with an international dimension come with their own sensitivities and require a great deal of patience for them to reach a result,” he told the official IRNA news agency.

“What matters to us is that we can safeguard the national interests of the country through these talks, and that is how we proceed.”

In a statement issued on Tuesday, a group of Iranian MPs accused the United States of turning the negotiations into a “strategic trap” in co-ordination with Israel.

They said Washington’s “aim is to impose demands through coercion, adopting positions that are insulting and entirely incompatible with the legitimate rights of the Iranian people.”

AFP