President Trump told Fox News Channel host Brian Kilmeade on Sunday that the United States “will not simply give up” on negotiations to curb Iran’s nuclear program because of Tehran’s ballistic missile program.
“We’re not giving up, and if we’re not going to be able to get a deal, we’re not going to simply give up on getting a deal,” Trump said, according to a transcript of the interview, which is scheduled to air later in the day.
A European Union diplomat said earlier Sunday that European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini would travel to Tehran later this week for two days of talks.
Mogherini is the senior EU official charged with facilitating the EU’s participation in negotiations over the nuclear program.
“EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini will travel to Tehran on July 26-27 for two days of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif,” according to a statement from the European External Action Service. “The talks aim to continue the technical work together on the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), including regarding issues of mutual concern.”
The nuclear deal Trump pulled out of last month and is now demanding Iran adhere to, agreed upon by the United States, five other world powers and Iran, calls for the West to end economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran agreeing to have long-term restraints on its nuclear program.
But Trump has also kept those sanctions in place on the country’s oil and auto sectors, which Iran has said could kill the deal. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that in response to the sanctions, Tehran has started sending more exports of crude oil by tankers, rather than tankers directly to its markets.
Though the U.S. has banned the sales of oil and petroleum products to Iran, it is still importing about 80,000 barrels of crude a day from Iran, the Journal reported. As a result, Iran has been scrambling to find ways to avoid U.S. sanctions on petroleum sales. In addition to its exports being sent directly to Asia, Iran has been selling more crude to countries in Turkey, Africa and Eastern Europe, the Journal reported.
In addition to threatening additional sanctions, Trump also said in the interview that he has promised Israel that “we’re prepared to use other options,” though he did not specify what those options would be.