US President Donald Trump said Thursday he is still urging Iran to negotiate a nuclear deal, but that he is concerned a “massive conflict” could occur in the Middle East if it does not.
“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter about a potential Israeli attack. "Look, it’s very simple, not complicated. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump offered guarded optimism that a conflict could still be avoided, and said he's urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off from taking action for the time-being.
“As long as I think there is a (chance for an) agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think it would blow it," Trump stated.
Trump said he felt it was necessary for his administration on Wednesday to direct a voluntary evacuation of nonessential personnel and their families from some US diplomatic outposts in the Middle East.
“We have a lot of American people in this area. And I said, we got to tell them to get out because something could happen soon,” Trump said. "And I don’t want to be the one that didn’t give any warning, and missiles are flying into their buildings. It’s possible. So I had to do it."
Iran said it has built and will activate a third nuclear enrichment facility, ratcheting up tensions with the UN on Thursday immediately after its atomic watchdog agency censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
“Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Atomic Energy Organization said in a joint statement.
The censure by the International Atomic Energy Agency, its first in 20 years over Iranian non-compliance, could set in motion an effort to restore sanctions on Iran later this year.
Trump had previously warned that Israel or America could launch airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiators failed to reach a deal on Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
A sixth round of Iran-US talks is scheduled to begin Sunday in Oman.
