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NEED TO KNOW
- Donald Trump urged Iran to make a nuclear deal “before there is nothing left.”
- The president’s comments came hours after Israel attacked Iranian cities Tehran and Natanz in a series of airstrikes on June 12.
- Trump has been seeking a new nuclear deal with Iran since he withdrew the United States from the last Iranian nuclear deal in 2018.
Donald Trump is warning Iran to make a nuclear deal “before it is too late.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president urged Iranian leaders in the capital city of Tehran to engage in a nuclear deal, just hours after Israel attacked the nation with a number of airstrikes.
The attacks, which began on June 12, hit Tehran and Natanz — the site of a key nuclear facility — and resulted in the deaths of many of Iran’s top scientists and generals, including Revolutionary Guard commander in chief Hossein Salam, per CNBC.
Stringer/Anadolu via Getty
The Trump administration was briefed on the hostilities, The New York Times reported, but the U.S. — Israel’s primary ally — insisted it had no role in them.
“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal,” Trump wrote in the post just before 6 a.m. ET on June 13. He added, “There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end.”
“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,” he concluded. “No more death, no more destruction, just do it, before it is too late.”
Trump has been seeking a new nuclear deal with Iran since returning to office, per CNBC, after he withdrew the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the previous nuclear deal) in 2018 and imposed subsequent economic sanctions on Iran.
Iran, in turn, has accused the U.S. of not respecting its right to enrich uranium for peaceful reasons, the outlet reported. U.S.-Iran nuclear deal negotiations were set to be held in Oman on Sunday, June 15, though Iran state media reported the country’s officials no longer plan on attending.
Stringer/Anadolu via Getty
Israel told the Trump administration that it believed the attacks were “necessary for its self-defense,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on June 12 via NYT, after the initial attacks.
Rubio added that the United States’ primary goal was to protect American forces in the area.
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