After earlier reports, President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that he is considering a “limited strike on Iran.” Asked about the possibility, he replied briefly: “I guess I can say I am considering.”
Almost simultaneously, IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin issued a calming message to the public shortly before the start of the Shabbat. “We are aware of the discourse regarding Iran. As the chief of staff has said, our eyes are open in all directions. We are on high defensive alert and our finger is on the trigger in the face of any change in the operational reality,” Defrin said. He stressed that there is “no change in the guidelines” and urged the public to follow only official updates from the IDF spokesman and the Home Front Command.
While Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to issue threats, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivered a more reassuring message Friday. In an interview with the MS NOW website, he said: “We held very good talks in Geneva and were able to discuss issues related to the nuclear program and US sanctions. We reached an understanding on guiding principles for the negotiations and on the possible form of an agreement.”
The Iranian official added: “We were asked to prepare a draft of a possible agreement for discussion at the next meeting. We will begin negotiating its text and hope to reach a conclusion. This is the path ahead, and I believe it is the natural course for any international negotiation. We agreed to proceed in this way.”
Araghchi praised International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi, with whom Iran had previously refused to cooperate for a considerable period, saying he played a constructive role in the latest round of talks. “There are technical steps that can be taken to ensure that the Iranian program never deviates, and that is what we did in 2015,” he said. “I am in contact with my negotiating counterparts, Witkoff and Kushner. We will meet again as necessary to find a way to reach a fair agreement.”
At the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace on Thursday, Trump addressed the negotiations with Iran, describing the talks as good but stressing the need for what he called a meaningful agreement. He said that experience has shown how difficult it is to secure such a deal with Iran and warned that serious consequences would follow if one is not achieved. In what appeared to be an ultimatum, he added that the United States might have to escalate its actions, though it also might reach an agreement, and suggested that clarity would likely come within the next 10 days.
In his remarks, Trump emphasized that any agreement he seeks must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but he did not mention the missile issue that concerns Israel. He said there is still work to be done with Iran and reiterated that it must not acquire a nuclear weapon, arguing that peace in the Middle East would be impossible if it did. He later repeated his warning that severe consequences would follow if Iran does not compromise in the negotiations, adding that Tehran must reach a deal.