President Donald Trump said a nuclear deal with Iran “should happen quickly”, as the US prepares to send a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Washington.
Asked how long talks with Tehran would take, Mr Trump said: “I guess over the next month, something like that.” He said a deal “should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly”.
The US President warned on Thursday that if Iran did not make a deal, it would be “very traumatic” for the country. The date of the next round of talks is yet to be announced.
His comments come as a source familiar with the US Navy’s planning told The National that the USS Gerald R Ford is planning to sail to the region.
The vessel is the world's largest aircraft carrier. In November, it was sent to the Caribbean before the US operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The first aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, and several guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East last month.
The threat of a potential US strike on Iran still looms, despite Washington and Tehran resuming nuclear talks in Oman last week and describing them as “positive”.
Mr Netanyahu on Thursday said he hoped that Mr Trump was creating the conditions to reach a deal with Iran that would avoid military action.
“I think that the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they surely understand they made a mistake last time by not reaching an agreement, may create the circumstances for achieving a good deal,” Mr Netanyahu said.
“The president believes that the Iranians have already learnt who they are dealing with,” he added.
Mr Netanyahu also said any agreement reached “must include the elements that are vital to Israel”. These include a halt to Iran's nuclear programme, limits on its ballistic missiles, and an end to Iran’s support for its regional proxies. Tehran has repeatedly said that its missile programme is “non-negotiable”.
Wednesday's meeting between the Israeli Prime Minister and the US President was the seventh since Mr Trump returned to office in January last year.
It also coincided with the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which toppled the monarchy and established the current regime. Iranian authorities say millions took part in pro-regime rallies across the country in a show of “national solidarity” against foreign intervention.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described the rallies as a “monumental movement”.
“The hopes of the enemies, who in their rhetoric and scheming are seeking the surrender of the Iranian nation, have been frustrated,” he said.
“For an entire nation to take to the streets, to all say the same thing with a single objective, to actively demonstrate that they’re present on the scene, and to be able to assert their identity before their enemies’ eyes is very valuable,” he said in a televised address. “This national solidarity is invaluable.”
More than 7,000 people were killed in the largest wave of unrest the country witnessed since the 1979 revolution, which began in December, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Iran has blamed foreign intervention for the protests and high death toll, but activist groups blame a massive crackdown by authorities.
