Trump says will ‘lead the pack’ on Iran attack if no nuclear deal

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said the United States will “lead the pack” in attacking Iran if talks over Tehran´s nuclear programme do not result in a new deal, according to a Time Magazine interview.

The US president -- in the interview conducted April 22 and published on Friday -- nonetheless expressed hope that such a deal could be reached, while also saying he was open to meeting Iran´s supreme leader or president face-to-face.

“It´s possible we´ll have to attack because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told Time. The renewed threat comes as Washington and Tehran continue talks over the clerical state´s nuclear programme, with a third round slated for Saturday in Oman.

Both sides expressed optimism at the end of the last meeting in Rome, without providing any details. The negotiations have thus far excluded Iran´s arch-foe Israel, though Trump on Tuesday said after a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “we are on the same side of every issue.”

Trump, asked by Time about reports he had blocked Israel from conducting a unilateral attack against Iran, replied: “That´s not right.” “I didn´t stop them. But I didn´t make it comfortable for them, because I think we can make a deal without the attack,” he said.

“Ultimately I was going to leave that choice to them, but I said I would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped.” Trump denied that he was worried about Netanyahu dragging the United States into war with Iran, saying: “He may go into a war. But we´re not getting dragged in.”

However, Trump added he “may go in very willingly if we can´t get a deal.” “If we don´t make a deal, I´ll be leading the pack,” Trump told Time. Trump in 2018 tore up a nuclear deal with Iran negotiated under president Barack Obama and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Teheran.

Western powers and Israel, considered by experts the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, have long accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons. Iran has always denied the charge, insisting its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only.

Asked if he would be willing to meet with Iran´s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or President Masoud Pezeshkian, Trump replied: “Sure.” Iran sees its missile programme rather than its uranium enrichment as a bigger obstacle in nuclear talks with the United States that resume on Saturday, an Iranian official with knowledge of the talks said on Friday.

The two sides agreed in talks in Rome last week to begin drawing up a framework to resolve a long standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme, with US President Donald Trump threatening to bomb Iran if there is not an agreement.