Trump says he's 'not happy' with Iran but more talks expected on Friday
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed disappointment on Friday about U.S. negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and warned that "sometimes you have to use force," amid a massive military presence in the region that could presage strikes on the Islamic Republic.Trump has increased diplomatic and military pressure on Iran in the weeks since an Iranian crackdown on protesters, attempting to force the country's rulers to forswear nuclear weapons and other activities Washington sees as destabilizing.After the latest round of talks on Thursday in Geneva ended with no deal, Trump's patience appeared to be wearing thin, although he said he had not made a final decision on the use of force."They cannot have nuclear weapons. And we're not thrilled with the way they're negotiating. We'll see how it all works out," Trump told reporters as he left the White House on a trip to Texas.Iran denies it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and wants any accord to include the lifting of U.S. sanctions against it.Trump spoke a day after negotiations between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iranian officials in Geneva ended without news of a deal, although Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, who was a mediator, said the talks made significant progress.A big U.S. military force, including two aircraft carrier groups, is in the region waiting on Trump's order.WATCH | Threat of U.S. military attack on Iran looms after talks end Thursday with no deal:A third round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva have ended without a deal, leaving the risk of military action looming. Trump says he prefers an agreement with Tehran over war, but details of the president’s demands remain unclear.The U.S. president said more discussions on Iran would take place later in the day.He did not specify with whom, but Oman, which has been acting as a mediator between the two countries, sent its foreign minister to Washington on Friday for discussions on the issue with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, according to a source familiar with the matter.Are you a Canadian in the Middle East who is considering leaving because of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran? We want to hear from you. Send an email to ask@cbc.ca.Top U.S. defence officials were at the White House on Thursday for talks. "We want no nuclear weapons by Iran and they're not saying those golden words," Trump said. That appeared to refer to the U.S. insistence Tehran commit to not developing nuclear weapons, something the president made explicit in his state of the union speech on Tuesday.Rubio to visit Israel next weekOn Friday, the U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make a quick trip to Israel early next week to "discuss a range of regional priorities, including Iran, Lebanon and ongoing efforts to implement President Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza."Earlier in the day, the U.S. Embassy in Israel had urged staff who want to leave to depart, joining other nations in encouraging people to leave the region and signalling that U.S. military action might be imminent. The announcement of Rubio's visit could indicate a longer timeline for any potential strike.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long urged tougher U.S. action against Iran, and has warned that Israel will respond to any Iranian attack. Before his trip, Rubio declared Iran to be a "state sponsor of wrongful detention," and the State Department may invalidate U.S. passports for travel to Iran.He said the move was due to the country's continued arrests and imprisonment of "innocent Americans" and citizens of other countries for use as political leverage. The move does not automatically carry any penalties, but Rubio said that if Iran doesn't stop, he could make it illegal to use a U.S. passport for travel to or from Iran. That restriction currently only applies to North Korea. WATCH | Trump pushes possible Iran attack in his state of the union speech:U.S. President Donald Trump laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his state of the union speech on Tuesday, saying he would not allow 'the world’s number one sponsor of terror' to have a nuclear weapon.In an email, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee told embassy employees that discussions with officials in Washington had led to a decision authorizing departures for those who wished to leave.The email was recounted to The Associated Press by someone involved with the U.S. mission who wasn't authorized to share details. Sent before 10:30 a.m. local time, it urged staff considering departure to do so quickly, advising them to to focus initially on getting any flight out of Israel and to then make their way to Washington."Those wishing to take [authorized departure] should do so TODAY," Huckabee wrote. "While there may be outbound flights over the coming days, there may not be."There was no need for panic, Huckabee said, but for those desiring to leave, it was important to make plans soon.Airlines such as Netherlands-based KLM have already announced plans to suspend flights out of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport, and other embassies have also made plans for authorized departures from Israel and neighbouring countries.U.K. relocates diplomatic staffAustralia on Wednesday "directed the departure of all dependents of Australian officials posted to Israel in response to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East." India and several European countries with missions in Iran also advised citizens to avoid travel to the country.Britain's Foreign Office said Friday that it has temporarily relocated some diplomatic staff and their dependents from Tel Aviv to another location within Israel as a precaution due to rising regional tensions.It said the British Embassy in Tel Aviv continued to operate normally, but warned that the security situation "could escalate quickly" and that international borders, including air and land routes, might close with little notice. Demonstrators hold images of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah and an Iranian opposition figure, during a protest against Iran's government in front of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday, as the U.S. and Iran hold indirect talks over their long-running nuclear dispute. (Pierre Albouy/Reuters)The departure authorizations signal a new level of contingency planning as a massive fleet of U.S. aircraft and warships mass in the Middle East.Meanwhile, China's embassy in Israel asked its citizens living in the country to stay put on Friday, instructing them to strengthen their security precautions and emergency preparedness, citing "rising security risks in the Middle East."Global Affairs Canada (GAC) said Thursday that Canadian staff and their dependents in both Israel and Palestine "remain in place."In a social media post, GAC also reiterated its advice for Canadians in Iran, in place since the deadly government crackdown on protests in January: "Leave Iran now if you can do so safely.""Due to ongoing tensions, hostilities in the region could resume with little or no warning," GAC wrote. Earlier this week, GAC said Canadian staff are remaining in Lebanon despite growing military tensions in the region.Congress prepares for war powers vote to block strikesHouse Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Friday a bipartisan coalition is working to force a vote as soon as next week on a war powers resolution that would attempt to prevent any U.S. action against Iran without approval from Congress."The American people don't want another failed forever foreign war, particularly in the Middle East, when we know the outcome is likely to be disastrous," Jeffries said on MSNow."What we've got to do right now, of course, is to do everything we can to prevent that from happening," he said. "It would be reckless. It would be dangerous. It would be harmful to America's national security interests."Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island said Trump has failed to explain the rationale or the risks involved in military action, and that Congress has received "no real briefings" on the administration's plans.
