By Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk
BASSETERRE, Saint Kitts and Nevis/WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Senior Trump administration officials on Wednesday made the case that Iran poses a major threat to the United States ahead of Thursday negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators are due to meet in Geneva on Thursday, the third round of nuclear talks this year, as the U.S. has built up one of its biggest military deployments in the Middle East ahead of possible strikes on the Islamic Republic.
In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, President Donald Trump accused Iran of restarting its nuclear program, working to build missiles that “soon” would be capable of reaching the United States and of being responsible for roadside bombings that have killed U.S. service members and civilians.
He has also warned that it will be a “very bad day” for Iran if no deal is reached to solve a longstanding dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran has threatened to strike American bases in the region if it is attacked.
RUBIO SAYS IRAN TRYING TO REBUILD NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Speaking to reporters during a trip to St. Kitts and Nevis, Rubio echoed Trump’s comments.
“After their nuclear program was obliterated, they were told not to try to restart it, and here they are,” Rubio said. “You can see them always trying to rebuild elements of it. They’re not enriching right now, but they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can.”
Trump ordered strikes on Iran last year, claiming in July that they had “obliterated” the country’s nuclear facilities. His aides have claimed more recently that Iran is very close to having the ability to make nuclear bombs.
Rubio said Iran also possessed a very large number of ballistic missiles that threaten U.S. interests in the region and that it was trying to develop weapons that can reach the continental United States.
“Beyond just the nuclear program, they possess these conventional weapons that are solely designed to attack America and attack Americans if they so choose to do so…They already possess weapons that can reach much of Europe already now, as we speak,” Rubio said.
Tehran’s insistence on not discussing the topic of ballistic missiles in the Geneva talks was a “big problem”, Rubio said, adding that he did not want to characterize the Thursday talks anything other than “the next opportunity to talk” even as he hoped for progress. “Hopefully they’re productive but eventually we’ll have to have conversations more than just the nuclear program.”
Iran has the largest stockpile of ballistic missiles in the Middle East, according to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Iranian missiles have a self-imposed range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles), which officials in the past said was enough to protect the country since it covers the distance to Israel.
‘IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON’
Earlier in the day, Vice President JD Vance said U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be meeting an Iranian delegation in Geneva on Thursday to assess whether an agreement can be reached. “The principle is very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters.
On Tuesday, Trump also faulted the government in Tehran for the deaths of thousands of protesters during recent anti-government demonstrations, although the specific figure he cited – that 32,000 people had been killed – is much higher than most public estimates.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met mediator Badr al-Busaidi, Oman’s foreign minister, following his arrival in Geneva on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s talks, Iran’s Press TV reported.
Araqchi raised with his Omani counterpart “Iran’s points and considerations regarding the nuclear issue and the lifting of the U.S.’ illegal and unilateral sanctions,” the report said.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk, Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland and Nandita Bose; Additional reporting by Hatem Maher in Cairo; Writing by Jan Wolfe and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Chris Reese, Bill Berkrot and Lincoln Feast.)
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