Trump says Iran leaders should be ‘very worried’ as talks near
Negotiations will take place in Oman, but there is disagreement over whether Tehran’s missile programme will be discussed
President Donald Trump sent a fresh warning to Iran’s leaders as US military forces amassed in the region, even as diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran were set for later this week.
“I would say he should be very worried, yeah. He should be,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, when asked about Iran’s supreme leader. “As you know, they are negotiating with us.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post on Wednesday that talks with the US were scheduled to be held in Muscat, Oman, on Friday morning.
The US and Iran still plan to meet in Oman on Friday to discuss a nuclear deal, according to a White House official.
Iran had asked for the discussions – which follow repeated threats by Trump to strike the country if it does not agree to a deal – to be moved to Oman from Turkey and to exclude the participation of regional countries, people familiar with the matter said earlier.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said earlier on Wednesday that the US thought an agreement had been reached for the meeting to be held on Friday in Turkey, while adding that the administration remained open to talks.