Trump says he prefers diplomacy to solve conflict with Iran

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said he wanted to solve the confrontation with Iran through diplomatic means but warned that he would never allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.”We are in negotiations with them, they want to make a deal but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said in his State of the Union speech.”My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy but one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon.”In his annual address to a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday, Trump struck a belligerent tone against Iran, accusing it of working to rebuild its nuclear program that was hit by US strikes last year.Trump has repeatedly said those sites were obliterated, a claim experts have disputed.“We wiped it out and they want to start all over again. And they’re at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions,” Trump said, as he broached the subject of potential military action against Iran about 90 minutes into his record-length speech.Iran has insisted for years that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. Neither US intelligence nor the UN’s nuclear watchdog found any evidence last year that Iran was pursuing atomic weapons.As well as accusing Iran of restarting its nuclear program, Trump claimed Tehran was working to build missiles that “soon” would be capable of reaching the US, echoing claims in Iranian state media that Tehran is developing a missile capable of reaching North America.He also claimed Iran was responsible for roadside bombings that have killed US service members and civilians. He criticised Tehran over the deaths of thousands of protesters killed during recent antigovernment demonstrations.“The (Iranian) regime and its murderous proxies have spread nothing but terrorism and death and hate,” Trump said.Trump’s latest comments on the tensions come amid a significant US military buildup in the Middle East, and before a third round of indirect talks scheduled for Thursday.The talks, to be held in Geneva and mediated by Oman, will be attended by Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with Iranian officials.Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X that a deal with Washington to avert conflict was “within reach”, as Iran prepared to resume talks in Geneva “with a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal – in the shortest possible time”.“Our fundamental convictions are crystal clear,” he wrote. “Iran will under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon; neither will we Iranians ever forgo our right to harness the dividends of peaceful nuclear technology for our people.”Iran and the US had “a historic opportunity to strike an unprecedented agreement”, he said, “but only if diplomacy is given priority”. — Agencies