TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) 鈥� U.S. President said Friday he’s 鈥渘ot happy鈥� with over Iran’s nuclear program but indicated he would give negotiators more time to reach a deal to in the Middle East.
He spoke a day after U.S. envoys held another inconclusive round of with Iran in Geneva. As American forces gather in the region, Trump has threatened military action if Iran does not agree to a far-reaching deal on its nuclear program, while Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes and denies seeking a nuclear weapon.
鈥淚鈥檓 not happy with the fact that they鈥檙e not willing to give us what we have to have. I鈥檓 not thrilled with that. We鈥檒l see what happens. We鈥檙e talking later,鈥� Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Friday. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not exactly happy with the way they鈥檙e negotiating. They cannot have nuclear weapons.”
Despite Trump’s negative assessment, one of the mediators of the talks later Friday appeared to issue a public plea to let the negotiations continue. Oman鈥檚 Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who has been mediating the talks, said on CBS’s Face the Nation that he felt a deal was within reach if the process could play out.
鈥淚f I was President Trump, my only advice is just to give those negotiators enough room, enough space to really close these remaining areas that we need to discuss and agree upon,鈥� he said.
Trump sounded more pessimistic, telling reporters as he visited Texas on Friday that Iranian negotiators “don鈥檛 want to quite go far enough. It鈥檚 too bad.鈥�
He reiterated that he did not want to see Iran allowed to enrich any amount of uranium and said the oil-rich nation should not need to enrich uranium for an energy program.
When asked by a reporter how close he was to deciding on whether to launch a military strike, he said, 鈥淚鈥檇 rather not tell you.鈥�
Earlier in the day, he was asked at the White House about the risks of the U.S. getting involved in if it strikes Iran.
鈥淚 guess you could say there鈥檚 always a risk,鈥� Trump replied. 鈥淵ou know, when there鈥檚 war, there鈥檚 a risk of anything, both good and bad.鈥�
Rubio heads to Israel
U.S. Secretary of State plans to make a quick trip to Israel early next week, the State Department said. The U.S. Embassy in Israel had earlier urged staff who want to leave to depart, joining other nations in encouraging people to leave the region and signaling that .
The announcement of Rubio’s visit and Trump’s latest remarks could indicate a longer timeline for any potential strike.
The State Department said Rubio would visit Israel on Monday and Tuesday to 鈥渄iscuss a range of regional priorities, including Iran, Lebanon, and ongoing efforts to implement President Trump鈥檚 .鈥� It offered no other details.
Israeli Prime Minister has long urged tougher U.S. action against Iran, and has warned that Israel will respond to any Iranian attack.
Before his trip, Rubio declared Iran to be a 鈥渟tate sponsor of wrongful detention,鈥� and the State Department may invalidate U.S. passports for travel to Iran.
He said the move was due to the country鈥檚 continued arrests and imprisonment of 鈥渋nnocent Americans鈥� and citizens of other countries for use as political leverage. The move does not automatically carry any penalties, but Rubio said that if Iran doesn鈥檛 stop, he could make it illegal to use a U.S. passport for travel to or from Iran. That restriction currently only applies to North Korea.
from the U.N. nuclear watchdog meanwhile confirmed that Iran has not offered inspectors access to sensitive nuclear sites since they were heavily bombed during . As a result, it said it could not confirm Iran’s claims that it stopped uranium enrichment after the U.S. and Israeli strikes.
The report was circulated to member countries and seen by The Associated Press.
Those wishing to leave ‘should do so TODAY鈥�
The announcement of Rubio’s visit came just hours after the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem implemented 鈥渁uthorized departure鈥� status for nonessential personnel and family members, which means that eligible staffers can leave the country voluntarily at government expense.
In an email, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee urged staff considering departure to do so quickly, advising them to focus on getting any flight out of Israel and to then make their way to Washington.
鈥淭hose wishing to take AD should do so TODAY,鈥� Huckabee wrote, using an acronym for 鈥渁uthorized departure.鈥�
鈥淲hile there may be outbound flights over the coming days, there may not be,鈥� he added. The email was recounted to the AP by someone involved with the U.S. mission who wasn’t authorized to share details.
On a town-hall meeting Friday after the email was sent, Huckabee told staff that he was encouraging airlines to keep flying.
Vance meets with mediator
Iran and the United States on Thursday walked away from another round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva without a deal. Technical discussions are scheduled to take place in Vienna next week.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said 鈥渨hat needs to happen has been clearly spelled out from our side,鈥� without offering specifics. Iran has long demanded relief from heavy international sanctions in return for taking steps to limit but not end its nuclear program.
Before his interview on CBS 草莓传媒, al-Busaidi met Friday with U.S. Vice President JD Vance to discuss the negotiations.
鈥淚 am grateful for their engagement and look forward to further and decisive progress in the coming days,鈥� al-Busaidi posted on X. 鈥淧eace is within our reach.鈥�
In his interview after briefing Vance, al-Busaidi, said there had been significant breakthroughs in the talks, that Iran had expressed that it was willing to give up its enriched uranium, not accumulate more and allow for comprehensive outside inspections.
The White House, Vance’s office and the Iranian mission to the U.N. did not immediately response to a request for comment.
, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, meanwhile met with Christopher Yeaw, a U.S. arms control official. Grossi posted on X that the two men had a 鈥渢imely exchange on current non-proliferation issues, including in Iran and other areas of common interest.鈥�
The U.N. chief urged Iran and the U.S. 鈥渢o focus on the diplomatic track.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing both positive messages coming out of the diplomatic tracks, which we鈥檙e continuing to encourage,鈥� U.N. Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres said, according to his spokesperson St茅phane Dujarric.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also seeing very worrying military movements throughout the region, which is extremely concerning as well.鈥�
Flights suspended as people are urged to leave
The U.S. has gathered in the Middle East, with one aircraft carrier already in place and another heading to the region. to any U.S. attack by targeting American forces in the region, potentially including those stationed in U.S. bases in allied Arab countries.
Airlines such as Netherlands-based KLM have already announced plans to suspend flights out of Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport, and other embassies have also made plans for authorized departures from Israel and neighboring countries.
Britain鈥檚 Foreign Office said that 鈥渄ue to the security situation, U.K. staff have been temporarily withdrawn from Iran.鈥� It said the embassy was operating remotely.
In Israel, the U.K. said Friday it moved some diplomatic staff and their families from Tel Aviv to another, unspecified location in Israel 鈥渁s a precautionary measure.鈥� In an update to its travel advice, the Foreign Office advises against 鈥渁ll but essential travel鈥� to Israel.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday the U.K. was focused on 鈥渟upporting the political process鈥� between Washington and Tehran.
Germany鈥榮 Foreign Ministry meanwhile advised urgently against travel to Israel.
Australia on Wednesday 鈥渄irected the departure of all dependents of Australian officials posted to Israel in response to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East.鈥� China, India and several European countries with missions in Iran have advised citizens to avoid travel to the country.
China’s Foreign Ministry also advised its citizens already in Iran to leave, according to a statement reported by Chinese state media.
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Price and Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, Seung Min Kim in Washington, Stephanie Liechtenstein in Vienna, Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Pangiotis Pylas in London contributed to this report.
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