United States President Donald Trump on Monday (July 27) said that he was in "very deep talks with Iran" but also prepared to restart "strong military action" against Tehran if diplomacy failed. Trump said that the planned US military strikes were delayed to allow diplomacy another opportunity.
"We are in very deep talks with Iran. If they don't work out, we will go back to very strong military action," Trump said in an interview to Axios.
Asked how long Washington is willing to give diplomacy, Trump said "Not much time. Either it goes fast or not at all."
Trump said that he allowed temporary halt in strikes against Iran because mediating countries as well as other countries in the region asked him to give negotiations another chance, reported Axios.
Trump further said that he agreed to the demands of the negotiators as there was "Nothing gained, nothing lost". He pointed towards drop in oil prices and stock market recovering after halting the attacks.
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Almost after two weeks Trump put a pause on military strikes against Iranian targets around the southern coast of Iran and in the Strait of Hormuz area.
The decision came after consultation with top advisers and military officials who presented him with a new strike plan for the day, reported Axios.
What is the negotiation focused on?
Trump's remarks comes ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. The two countries launched a joint strike on Iran in February, eliminating Iran's supreme leader Ayahtollah Ali Khemenei and several top leadership of the country. They launched the attack citing threats and Tehran's nuclear program.
Iran and Oman are the main negotiators of peace talks between US and Iran, but Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt and Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are actively involved.
The current negotiations focuses on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and relaunch talks on a comprehensive nuclear deal.

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