Trump prefers diplomacy with Iran but warns of ‘military deterrence’ as US deploys massive forces
White House correspondent Kimberly Halkett says that President Donald Trump, in his recent Truth Social post, highlighted discussions from his nearly three-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Reporting from the White House, Halkett noted the talks covered not only Iran but also what Trump described as “progress” in Gaza and the region.
In respect to Trump’s post on Truth Social, he once again has indicated that he wants to see a deal with Iran, but that came once again with a heavy threat of “military deterrence”, Halkett said. “While he’s hoping for diplomacy, he is once again reminding Iran what happened the last time Iran didn’t want a deal.”
Halkett said that the US military buildup in the Gulf has not been seen since the Desert Storm in the 90s. The US’s deployment of F-22s is “concerning”, she added.
Stop calling it a deal, he wants Iran to comply with his and Israel's demands to claim a win...
Massive US military buildup in Gulf creates ‘very fraught’ situation
Alan Eyre, distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute, has told Al Jazeera that while talks between the US and Iran are few and far between, Washington has staged a major build-up in the Gulf.
“This is a very fraught situation because when you gather that much military hardware in such a relatively small area, such as the Persian Gulf, the odds for miscalculation and consequent destabilisation regionally become very high,” he said.
Meanwhile, “the talks have been happening at a very slow, desultory pace,” he continued.
Eyre said that while under previous US administrations there had been “a concentrated team of experts on both sides, we’re not seeing that now.” “There’s very few people involved on the US administration dealing with these issues, and the pace is so much slower.”
