Trump says US held ‘very good talks with Iran’ as Islamic Republic ratchets up rhetoric

The US and Iran will meet again next week after President Trump said the two sides held “very good talks” in Oman, but the risk of armed conflict remains high as both country’s continue to trade threats.

“We likewise had very good talks on Iran, Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly … we’re going to meet again early next week,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One Friday.

Trump and Netanyahu are set to meet Wednesday. ZUMAPRESS.com

The US has called on Iran to curb its ballistic missile stockpile and halt its support for terrorist proxies in the region, but Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi slapped down talk of progress, telling state media Saturday that Tehran would not negotiate on any other issue aside from its nuclear program.

“Our talks are focused solely on the nuclear issue, and we are not engaging with the Americans on any other subject,” he said in an interview with Iran’s Press TV.

Araghchi also vowed to continue the country’s nuclear enrichment program, calling it an “inalieable right” in an interview with Al Jazeera.

The diplomatic talks were the first since the US struck Tehran’s nuclear facilities in June, during Iran’s 12-day war with Israel.

Trump later boasted Friday that the US has a “big Armada” heading towards Iran if a deal cannot be reached.

US diplomatic envoys Witkoff and Kushner visited the USS Abraham Lincoln stationed in the Arabian Sea Saturday, after they engaged in talks with Araghchi.

Trump dispatched the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, along with five squadrons of strike fighters, toward the Islamic Republic last month after the Islamic Republican brutally suppressed widespread protests calling for regime change across the country.

US envoys Witkoff and Kushner toured the USS Abraham Lincoln Saturday. US NAVY/AFP via Getty Images

Some human rights groups have estimated more than 36,500 Iranians were killed during a violent crackdown on protests by the Ayatollah Ali Khaemenei’s forces in early January.

Meanwhile, Americans in Iran were urged to flee by the State Department late Thursday, with the virtual US Embassy calling on them to prepare a plan to leave the country “that does not rely on US government help.”

The Islamic Republic warned that it would retaliate by striking US military bases in the Middle East if Trump launched an attack on their country.

“It would not be possible to attack American soil, but we will target their bases in the region,” Araghchi told Qatari Al Jazeera television during an interview Saturday.

As the tensions in the region near a tipping point, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is headed to Washington to meet with Trump Wednesday, and will be joined by the head of the Israeli Air Force, The Times of Israel reported.

Netanyahu has insisted that any US deal with Iran must include an end to Tehran’s ballistic missile program and support for their terrorist proxies in the region.

“The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include restrictions on ballistic missiles and an end to support for the Iranian axis,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.