Internal security secretary Kristi Noem said that the American president “wanted peace” but will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Washington, DC – The United States Secretary of Internal Security, Kristi Noem, said he had transmitted a message from President Donald Trump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the two countries should be aligned with the way of approaching Iran.
Noem, who concluded a visit to Israel on Monday, told Fox News that his talks with Netanyahu were “frank and direct”. His comments came a few days after us and Iranian officials organized their fifth cycle of nuclear talks in Rome.
“President Trump specifically sent me here to have a conversation with the Prime Minister on how these negotiations take place and how important it is to remain united and let this process take place,” she said.
Trump suggested that talks were progressing well.
“We had very, very good discussions with Iran,” the American president told journalists. “And I don’t know if I’m going to tell you something good or bad in the next two days, but I have the feeling that I could tell you something good.
Last week, CNN reported, quoting unidentified American officials, that Israel was preparing for strikes against Iranian nuclear installations, despite the talks led by the United States.
Iran has promised to respond with force to any Israeli attack and accused Netanyahu of working to undermine American diplomacy.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Israeli Prime Minister last week was “desperate to dictate what the United States could and cannot do.”
Israel is skeptical about nuclear negotiations and Netanyahu has said for years that Iran is at the dawn of the acquisition of a nuclear bomb. Israeli officials depict Iran – which supports the regional groups engaged in an armed struggle against Israel – as a major threat.
Naem said on Monday that the United States understood that Netanyahu did not trust Iran.
“The message to the American people is: we have a president who wants peace, but also a president who will not tolerate the ability of nuclear Iran in the future. They will not be able to obtain a nuclear weapon, and this president will not allow it,” she said.
“But he also wants this Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the same wavelength with him.”
A major collision point in talks was whether Iran would be authorized to enrich its own uranium.
US officials said they wanted Iran not only to release its nuclear program, but also to completely stop the enrichment of uranium – a position which, according to Tehran, is a non -starter.
Enrichment is the process of modifying the atom of uranium to create nuclear fuel.
Iranian officials claim that enrichment for civil purposes is a sovereign right which is not prohibited by the Treaty of Nuclear Non-Proliferation (TNP).
Tehran denies in search of a nuclear weapon, while Israel is largely suspected of having an unsuccessful nuclear arsenal.
During his first mandate, in 2018, Trump nixed the Complete Complete Action Plan (JCPOA), which had seen Iran reduce its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against its economy.
Since then, the United States has had sanctions against Iran. Tehran responded by increasing his nuclear program.
Iran temporarily excluded the enriching uranium suspension on Monday to conclude a provisional agreement with the United States.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, stressed that Iran does not buy time with talks.
“We seized the course of talks seriously and deliberately with the intention of reaching a fair agreement. We have proven our seriousness,” said Baqaei, quoted by the Tasnim news agency.