Donald Trump stated on Friday that “Europe will not be able to help” in the conflict between Israel and Iran, after several European foreign ministers held a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The representatives of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well as the head of EU diplomacy, urged Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, to continue talks with Washington to prevent a regional escalation.
Trump says it is “difficult” to ask Israel to stop the attacks
“No, (the conversations) have not helped. Iran does not want to talk to Europe, they want to talk to us (United States). Europe is not going to be able to help with this,” said the President of the United States in statements to the press from New Jersey.
When asked if he would request Israel to stop its attacks on Iran in order to continue negotiations on the nuclear program, he considered that “it is very difficult to make that request right now.” “If someone is winning, it is a little more difficult than if someone is losing. But we are ready, willing, and able, and we have been talking to Iran. We will see what happens,” he said.
Trump also explained that he has given a deadline to Iranian authorities to return to the negotiating table before making a decision on whether to intervene militarily in the conflict: "I’m giving them a deadline, we’ll see what it is, but I would say that two weeks would be the maximum," he emphasized regarding doubts about whether the United States will attack Iran before this period of time ends.
However, Trump suggested that “it may not be necessary” for the United States to intervene militarily. “We’ll have to see what happens,” he said, clarifying that Israel does not have the ability to destroy all Iranian nuclear facilities: “They have a very limited capacity. They could penetrate a small section, but they can’t go very deep. They don’t have that capability.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) do not have the so-called 13,000-kilogram “bunker-busting” bombs from the United States, which would be powerful enough to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, especially the one in Fordo located in a mountain.
Furthermore, the GBU-57 bomb requires a US B-2 bomber for its deployment. Israel also does not possess this strategic aircraft.
How was the meeting between European countries and Iran?
The objective of the meeting between the foreign ministers of three European countries and the Iranian foreign minister was to request Tehran to return to the negotiating table with Washington and to try to prevent a regional escalation.
David Lammy, from the United Kingdom, commented that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon”. “This is a dangerous moment and it is crucial that we do not see a regional escalation of this conflict,” he added.
Iranian Abbas Araghchi, in turn, stated that he supports “continuing the conversations” with the three European countries and the European Union. “We are willing to hold another meeting soon,” he emphasized.