President Donald Trump hardened his stance toward Iran on Friday at a cabinet meeting held at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, saying he was losing confidence in negotiations with Tehran and warning that the United States would intensify pressure if talks failed to advance.
Trump said he was losing faith in the Iranian side because, in his characterization, they lie and misrepresent. He accused Iranian negotiators of acting in bad faith during talks aimed at resolving the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump also expressed frustration with the pace of diplomacy, questioning the value of lengthy negotiating sessions. He said that after meetings lasting as long as seven hours on the nuclear issue, the Iranian delegation would deny the subject had even been raised, and that the only effect of such behavior was to make him angry.
When asked about Washington’s strategy in the coming weeks, Trump said the United States would hit Iran very hard, though he did not specify whether he meant new sanctions, military pressure or other measures. He added that a point would come when Iran said it could no longer endure the pressure.
US tanker lands in Bulgaria
Separately, an American aerial refuelling tanker arrived at Bezmer Air Base in central Bulgaria despite warnings from Iran. A spokeswoman for the Bulgarian Defence Ministry confirmed the landing and said there were no security concerns stemming from US aircraft operating on Bulgarian soil. The aircraft was the first of eight that have received clearance from the Bulgarian government.
Camp David backdrop
Friday’s meeting was the first cabinet session Trump has held at Camp David during his second term. A previous attempt to hold the meeting there, planned for May, was cancelled because of weather. The White House noted it was also the first televised cabinet meeting held at the complex. Camp David was established in 1942 during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a secure retreat from Washington.
