'US has seen evidence...': Vance warns Iran ahead of Geneva meet, Rubio flags missile 'problem' — Will nuclear talks fail?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'US has seen evidence...': Vance warns Iran ahead of Geneva meet, Rubio flags missile 'problem' — Will nuclear talks fail?")
US President Donald Trump and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei Photograph: (AFP)
Ahead of US-Iran talks in Geneva, JD Vance claimed Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program after US strikes, while Marco Rubio warned Tehran must discuss ballistic missiles. Trump reiterated Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, as both sides prepare for high-stakes negotiations.
Ahead of US-Iran talks in Geneva, Vice President JD Vance has said that the United States has seen evidence that Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program after US-led strikes against Iranian nuclear sites in June. Reiterating Trump's stance, Vance said that they want Iran to not have nuclear weapon. Additionally, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that Iran's insistence on not discussing ballistic missiles is a “big, big problem.” The statements by Trump's team comes a day after the US president delivered his State of Union speech and warned Iran. Trump special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold negotiations with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and team on Thursday (Feb 26).
“The principle is very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters, adding, "If they try to rebuild a nuclear weapon, that causes problems for us. In fact, we’ve seen evidence that they have tried to do exactly that.” Vance also insisted that the POTUS wants to address the issue “diplomatically, but of course the president has other options as well.” Earlier, while speaking to Fox News, Vance said, “You can't let the craziest and worst regime in the world have nuclear weapons.” Taking forward Trump's claims that Iran is developing missile that can hit the US, Rubio said that the Islamic Republic must negotiate on its missile program as well. “I would say that the Iranian insistence on not discussing ballistic missiles is a big, big problem."
Trump warns Iran in SOTU speech
In his State of Union speech, Trump claimed that Islamic Republic is building missiles that can strike the United States, while warning that he will not allow “number 1 terror sponsor” to have nuclear weapons. The POTUS also said that the Iranian regime has spread terrorism and death “since they seized control of that proud country 47 years ago.” Speaking about the protests in Iran, Trump claimed that the Iranian regime has killed as many as 32 thousand people. He praised Op Midnight Hammer and said that the US had wiped out Iranian nuclear energy but "they want to start all over again, and are at this moment, again, pursuing their sinister ambitions.” Notably, Trump also mentioned late Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in his speech and reminded the country of how he was killed by the US.
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Also Read: US-Iran tensions: Trump targets Iran's shadow fleet, sanctions aimed Iran's ballistic missiles
How Iran reacted?
Iran said that US President Trump's claims about nuclear facilities and ballistic missiles are “big lies” as the POTUS expressed his desire to hear the “secret words” of no nuclear weapon from the Iranian regime. The Iranian foreign ministry did not name Trump in its statement but called out the claims by him. Meanwhile, in an interview with India Today, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran is prepared for war as well as peace ahead of Geneva talks, but expressed hopes for a deal. He slammed Israel for attempting to derail Iran-US ties. He also said that Trump's opinion about Iran has been formed by misunderstanding and external influence rather than direct engagement with Iranian society. He repeated Iran's stance on nuclear talks and said that “nuclear energy is the right of Iran”, while also insisting that Iran will never develop a nuclear weapon.
