Trump warns that the US will activate a second “tough” phase for Iran if there is no agreement

Washington. – The President of the United States, Donald Trump, clarified this Thursday that he has not spoken with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, about the possible suspension of the dialogue with Iran on its nuclear program, but warned that if an agreement is not reached, Washington will activate a second “very tough” phase for Tehran. Asked at a press conference about the meeting he had at the White House the day before with Netanyahu and whether the latter asked him to suspend talks with the Iranian government, Trump said they “hadn’t talked about that.”

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“I will talk to them (the Iranians) as much as I want, and we will see if we can reach an agreement with them. And if we can’t, we will have to move on to phase two. Phase two will be very hard for them,” he stated. Trump insisted on the need to reach a nuclear pact with Iran, because “otherwise, it will be very traumatic” for the Persian nation. “I don’t want that to happen, but we have to reach an agreement,” he added. He added that Tehran should “have reached an agreement the first time. Instead, they suffered the ‘Midnight Hammer'”, he said, referring to Operation Midnight Hammer, in which the U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities. “If (the Iranians) don’t make a deal, it will be another story. But yesterday we had a very good meeting with Bibi Netanyahu, and he understands it, but ultimately, it’s up to me if the deal is fair,” he indicated. The US president reiterated his support for Netanyahu’s management and criticized the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, for not granting a pardon to the prime minister, on trial for corruption. “He (Herzog) doesn’t want to do it (grant the pardon) because, I suppose, he would lose his power. I think the people of Israel should really make him feel ashamed. It’s shameful that he doesn’t grant it. He should grant it. But Bibi has been a great prime minister in times of war, and I have been Israel’s best friend,” he declared. Negotiations to close a nuclear deal between the United States and Iran resumed last week, in the first meeting since the twelve-day war that took place in June last year between Iran and Israel, in which Washington participated and bombed Iranian nuclear facilities last June. Israel demands that Iran not only agree to limit its uranium enrichment, but also reduce its ballistic missile program and end any support for militias in the region. Tehran rejects these demands and states that it will only accept certain limitations to its nuclear program in exchange for a relaxation of international sanctions.