Trump warns he's considering limited strikes as Iranian diplomat says proposed deal is imminent
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump warned on Friday that limited strikes against Iran are possible even as the country's top diplomat said Tehran expects to have a proposed deal ready in the next few days following nuclear talks with the United States.
In response to a reporter's question on whether the US could take limited military action as the countries negotiate, Trump said, “I guess I can say I am considering that.” Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a TV interview that his country was planning to finalise a draft deal in “the next two to three days” to then send to Washington.
“I don't think it takes long, perhaps, in a matter of a week or so, we can start real, serious negotiations on the text and come to a conclusion,” Araghchi said on MSNOW's “Morning Joe” show.
The tensions between the longtime adversaries have ramped up as the Trump administration pushes for concessions from Iran and has built up the largest US military presence in the Middle East in decades, with more warships and aircraft on the way. Both countries have signalled that they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran's nuclear programme fizzle out.
“We are prepared for war, and we are prepared for peace,” Araghchi said Friday.
Trump said a day earlier that he believes 10 to 15 days is “enough time” for Iran to reach a deal following recent rounds of indirect negotiations, including this week in Geneva, that made little visible progress. But the talks have been deadlocked for years, and Iran has refused to discuss wider US and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups.
Araghchi also said Friday that his American counterparts have not asked for zero enrichment of uranium as part of the latest round of talks, which is in contradiction to what US officials have said.
"What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran's nuclear programme, including enrichment, is peaceful and will remain peaceful forever," he said.
He added that in return Iran will implement some confidence-building measures in exchange for relief on economic sanctions.
In response to Araghchi's claim, a White House official said Trump has been clear that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons or the capacity to build them and that it cannot enrich uranium. The official wasn't authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Tehran has long insisted that any negotiations should only focus on its nuclear programme and that it hasn't been enriching uranium since US and Israeli strikes last June on Iranian nuclear sites. Trump said at the time that the strikes had “obliterated” Iran's nuclear sites, but the exact damage is unknown as Tehran has barred international inspectors.
Iran has also insisted that its nuclear programme is peaceful. The US and others suspect it is aimed at eventually developing weapons.
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Assembly polls: Rs 650 crore worth illicit cash, liquor seized; nearly half from West Bengal
New Delhi (PTI): Enforcement authorities across the four poll-going states and Puducherry have seized over Rs 650 crore worth of illicit cash, drugs and liquor meant to allure voters, the Election Commission said on Sunday.
According to data shared by the poll authority, Rs 319 crore of illicit cash, drugs, liquor and valuable metals have been seized from West Bengal, followed by Rs 170 crore in Tamil Nadu.
Over 5,173 flying squads have been deployed to ensure that the complaints are attended to within 100 minutes.
Besides this, over 5,200 static surveillance teams (SSTs) have also been deployed for setting up surprise nakas (broadly, barricades) at different locations, the poll authority said.
While Kerala, Assam and Puducherry go to the polls on April 9, voting in West Bengal will be in two phases on April 23 and 29. Tamil Nadu will have assembly polls in a single phase on April 23.
Assembly bypolls will also be held in eight seats across six states on April 9 and 23.
The data, EC said, has been collated from the Electronic Seizure Management System.
While assembly elections and by-elections were announced on March 15, the Electronic Seizure Management System (ESMS) was activated on February 26.
