President Donald Trump gave Iran 10 days to dismantle its nuclear program or face a military strike.
Trump made the threat at the Board of Peace meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C.
“Now we may have to take it a step further or we may not. Maybe we are going to make a deal [with Iran]. You are going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days,” Trump said, per Axios.
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U.S. and Israeli officials said a military operation against Iran would likely be a massive, weeks-long campaign.
“And, you know, it’s peace in the Middle East. We have peace in the Middle East, think of it. For years, you’ve been hearing about peace in the Middle East and everybody was saying it’s impossible,” Trump said.
“All of these countries are working together around the vision of a Middle East that is free from the curse of extremism and terror. And now is the time, and by the way, even people with extremism and preaching extremism, they’re exhausted,” Trump said. “They’re tired. It’s been going on for too many years. I don’t care who you are. They’re tired. They want peace.”
“And now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we’re doing. And if they join us, that’ll be great. If they don’t join us, that’ll be great too,” Trump continued. “But it’ll be a very different path. They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region, and they must make a deal. Or if that doesn’t happen, I maybe can understand. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. But bad things will happen if it doesn’t. With the commitments announced today, the Board of Peace is proving that it does not just convene countries.
It devises and implements real solutions that happen.”
U.S. officials have said the arrival of the USS Ford aircraft carrier and its strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean in the next few days will be a key factor in the timing of a possible military campaign against Iran.
