Washington DC, April 18
US President Donald Trump on Friday warned that Washington will act more aggressively to secure Iran's nuclear materials if an agreement aimed at achieving a complete halt to the hostilities in West Asia is not reached, reiterating that the US would secure nuclear materials of the Islamic Republic "in a much more unfriendly way" if diplomacy fails.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One during a press gaggle, Trump said the US expects cooperation from Tehran on securing nuclear-related materials and reiterated that Washington prefers a negotiated settlement but is prepared for alternative measures if necessary.
"Somewhere after the signing of the agreement, we'll go with Iran. We'll go in with Iran, and we will take it together, and we will bring it back 100 per cent of it back to the United States. If we don't do that, we will get it in a different, form in a much more unfriendly form. But in any event, we'll get it," Trump said.
His remarks come amid continued international focus on diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran after over a month-long conflict, leading to a two-week ceasefire between the two sides to push diplomatic efforts to achieve a complete solution.
Earlier, Trump repeated his remarks that the US will take enriched uranium from Iran as part of ongoing negotiations, even as Tehran strongly denied any agreement to transfer nuclear material.
Addressing a Turning Point USA event in Arizona, Trump said the operation would be carried out jointly with lots of excavators.
"We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators. We need the biggest excavators you can imagine. But we're going in together with Iran, we're going to get it, and we're going to take it back home to the USA."
These remarks came shortly after Iran rejected US claims that it had agreed to transfer its enriched uranium to the United States.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran would not allow such a move under any circumstances.
"Enriched uranium is as sacred to us as Iranian soil and will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances," he was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency, according to Al Jazeera.
The comments follow Trump's earlier assertion that Iran had "agreed to everything" in talks with Washington, including joint removal of enriched uranium. He also said there were no remaining "sticking points" in negotiations and expressed confidence that a deal could be reached soon.
- ANI
Reader Comments
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.