Donald Trump has warned Iran it has only “two or three days” left to agree to a nuclear deal, as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate following weeks of military brinkmanship.
Speaking to reporters, the US President said the window for diplomacy was rapidly closing and insisted the United States could not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
Asked how long Tehran had to return to negotiations, Mr Trump replied: “Two or three days. Maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. A limited period of time. Because we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.
“If they had a nuclear weapon, they would start with Israel and they would blow it up, they would blow it up fast”.
Mr Trump also said he believed the Iranian regime would use a nuclear weapon against Israel if it were able to develop one, intensifying already highly charged rhetoric surrounding the standoff.
The comments come amid growing fears that the confrontation between the United States, Israel and Iran could slide back towards open conflict after recent military strikes and failed diplomatic efforts.
Washington has repeatedly demanded that Tehran permanently abandon any pathway to nuclear weapons capability, while Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
The President’s remarks follow reports that the White House recently paused a planned large-scale military operation against Iran after pressure from Gulf allies concerned about the risk of regional war and surging energy prices.
Despite the temporary pause, US officials have continued to signal that military options remain firmly on the table if negotiations collapse.
The latest warning is likely to further increase pressure on Tehran, where hardliners have already responded aggressively to recent US-Israeli actions.
Iranian lawmakers are currently preparing legislation that would place multimillion-pound bounties on Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during joint military strikes.
The increasingly hostile exchanges underline how rapidly the crisis has escalated beyond conventional diplomacy, with threats of assassination, military retaliation and regime destabilisation now dominating rhetoric on all sides.
Diplomatic efforts continue behind the scenes, but officials in Washington have privately admitted progress has been limited, raising fears that the coming days could prove critical in determining whether the crisis moves back towards negotiation or deeper confrontation.
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