Tag: nuclear weapons

“A last chance to avert war with Iran played out Thursday in Geneva, where Trump administration officials told Iranian counterparts they must not take certain steps needed to build a nuclear bomb.

It didn’t go well.

As the U.S. delegation laid out its position that Iran couldn’t enrich uranium for the next 10 years, the Iranian side balked, said a senior Trump administration official who described the meeting on condition of anonymity.

Iran has an “inalienable right” to enrich uranium, Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, told the Americans. And the U.S. has an “inalienable right” to stop you, Steve Witkoff, a member of the U.S. delegation, replied.

After having heard the U.S. demands, Araghchi started yelling at Witkoff, who was accompanied at the meeting by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, among others, said the senior official.

“If you prefer, I can leave,” Witkoff said.

Araghchi’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Afterward, the American delegation reported back to Trump what had happened. Trump was “nonplussed,” the senior official said.

By Saturday morning, the U.S. was at war.

…

“They weren’t willing to stop their nuclear research,” Trump said. “They weren’t willing to say they will not have a nuclear weapon. Very simple.””

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-decided-strike-iran-021729090.html