Trumps asks Iran to be 'reasonable' in next round of talks over nuclear deal
Iran a 'tough' negotiator: US leader says he will be 'indirectly' involved in Geneva talks
Washington DC: United States President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) urged Iran to be "reasonable" in the next round of talks over the nuclear deal, reminding Tehran of the June 2025 B-2 bomber attack.
"I will be involved in those talks indirectly. It will be very important," he said.
"Iran is a tough negotiator, but I would say they are bad negotiators, as we could have had a deal instead of sending out B-2s (B-2 Bombers) to knock out their nuclear potential. I hope they are going to be more reasonable.
"They want to make a deal... I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal," Trump added.
"We have peace in the Middle East. You will see some flames here and there, but we essentially have peace in the Middle East. That happened because we did a B-2 attack on the nuclear potential. They would have had a nuclear weapon within one month. If that happened, it would have been a whole different deal."
The latest talks, scheduled Tuesday and mediated by Oman, follow repeated threats from Trump of military action against Tehran -- first over Iran's deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, and then more recently over the country's nuclear programme.
'More realistic US position'
The United States and some European countries fear the program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies.
Washington has previously pushed for other topics to be discussed, including Iran's ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the Middle East.
Iran's foreign ministry said earlier Monday that "the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one."
A previous attempt at negotiations collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran, beginning a 12-day war that Washington joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites.
Geneva talks
The US and Iran are expected to hold the next round of talks over the nuclear deal on Tuesday (local time) in Geneva, Switzerland, CNN reported.
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to attend the meetings.
Iran and the United States held the previous rounds of nuclear talks in April 2025 in Muscat, Oman, and Rome, Italy.
However, on June 21-22, 2025, under 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' the United States conducted strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure, targeting three key sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
Iran strongly condemned the operations, denouncing them as a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter.
Board of Peace
When asked about the Board of Peace for Gaza, Donald Trump said that the world leaders involved will work along with the United Nations.
"It (the Board) has all world leaders and putting tremendous amounts of money. And I think it will go far beyond Gaza and there will be peace all over the world. We are working in conjunction with the United Nations. The UN has great potential, but they haven't lived up to it. But they might aid us a little bit," Trump told reporters.
A key meeting for the Board of Peace is scheduled on February 19, ahead of which Donald Trump had announced that member states involved have pledged over $5 billion towards humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
