Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One late Monday night, President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing talks between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran and said he expected to be involved indirectly in the negotiations.
"I will be involved in these talks in an indirect way, in Geneva. They are very important. We will see what happens," Trump said. "Iran typically negotiates tough. They are good negotiators, or bad negotiators, because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s."
Asked whether the chances of reaching an agreement were close to impossible, Trump replied: "No. I think they want to make a deal. I do not think they want the consequences of not making a deal."
His remarks come ahead of another round of indirect US-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday, mediated by Oman, aimed at reaching understandings on Iran's nuclear program and the removal of economic sanctions imposed on the ayatollah regime.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are expected to attend the meeting, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Preliminary contacts were previously held in Muscat earlier this month.
Tehran has made clear that any agreement would require "give and take" and relief from economic sanctions, while Washington is demanding guarantees that Iran will be prevented from obtaining the capability to develop nuclear weapons.
The diplomatic push comes amid heightened military tensions in the region. Over the past 24 hours, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps held live-fire drills in the Strait of Hormuz to test operational readiness and rehearse confrontation scenarios.
At the same time, the US military continues to deploy forces to the area, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and additional naval reinforcements. Trump has stressed that the buildup is necessary in case a deal is not reached.
The apparent strategy is to increase diplomatic pressure while keeping a military option on the table, as Iran has warned that any attack would be met with a response of its own.
On the eve of the talks, both sides are publicly signaling a willingness to negotiate, even as they prepare for the possibility that diplomacy could fail.
