WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump says he's looking for an off-ramp from a potential conflict with Iran – but he hasn't heard the "secret words" from the adversarial nation with whom the United States is involved in tense nuclear negotiations.
Trump in his State of the Union address on Feb. 24 said he wants Iran to declare that it "will never have a nuclear weapon." Even after a U.S. operation last summer badly damaged or destroyed Iran's nuclear sites, Trump said the country is pursuing "sinister ambitions."
U.S. fighter jets and aircraft carriers have been deployed to the region as Trump has threatened to attack. He warned Feb. 19 that “really bad things will happen” if Iran does not make a deal in 10 to 15 days to permanently end its nuclear program.
"Look, it'd be wonderful if they'd negotiate, really in good conscience, good faith and conscience, but they are not getting there. So far... they are not getting there," Trump told reporters on Feb. 27, as he departed the White House on a trip to Texas.
The president said that he was not happy with the way Iran has been negotiating but had not made a final decision about whether to conduct a military strike, which may or may not lead to Iran's supreme leader being toppled, and U.S. allies in the region fear could escalate into a wider war.
