Trump Links Potential New Strikes on Iran to Nuclear Negotiations Outcome

WASHINGTON, April 29. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump stated that the decision on whether to launch new strikes against Iran depends on how negotiations between Washington and Tehran proceed. "I don't know, it depends," he told reporters at the White House, answering a question on whether the US may renew its attacks on Iran. "We're having talks with them now," he recalled. "They [Iranian authorities] have come a long way. The question is whether or not they're going to go far enough. So at this moment, there will never be a deal unless they agree that there will be no nuclear weapons [in Iran's possession]," the president added. Meanwhile, Tehran has repeatedly stressed that it is not trying to develop nuclear weapons. Moreover, Western intelligence agencies have found no evidence that Iran is developing nuclear arms. In late January, The New York Times, among others, reported on this. Since 2003, a fatwa issued by Former Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been in effect in Iran, prohibiting the production of nuclear weapons. The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Tehran decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships associated with the US, Israel and countries that backed aggression against Iran. On April 7, Washington announced a "double-sided" two-week ceasefire with Iran. According to the Emergency Medical Services of Iran, a total of 3,375 people were killed in US-Israeli strikes in the 40 days of the war. On April 11, the parties held several rounds of talks in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. According to both Tehran and Washington, they were unable to agree on a long-term solution to the conflict due to multiple disagreements. On April 21, Trump announced that Washington intended to extend the ceasefire with Iran, which was set to expire in a few hours. The Iranian State Television announced later that Tehran did not intend to recognize the unilateral extension of the ceasefire announced by Washington and would act in line with its interests.