White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump’s sanctions have crippled Iran’s terror funding and warns of “grave consequences” if Tehran rejects diplomacy.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s aggressive stance against Iran has crippled its global terror funding.
She made the comments ahead of upcoming talks between the US and Iran on Iran’s nuclear program. Leavitt told reporters that Iran will be boxed in when they enter the talks in Oman on Saturday.
“The president has reimposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian regime, and he’s made it very clear to Iran they have a choice to make. You can strike a deal with the president. You can negotiate, or there will be hell to pay,” stated Leavitt.
“As the president said yesterday, if they don’t choose to move forward with diplomacy and a deal, which is the direction we do see them headed in, there will be grave consequences.”
Trump announced on Monday, during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the US would hold direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program over the weekend.
Despite Trump’s claims that the talks would be direct, Iranian officials said the encounter would involve indirect engagement rather than face-to-face talks.
Iran recently rejected Trump’s offer for direct talks, as outlined in a letter sent by the President to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump then warned that “bad things” would happen to Iran if it does not agree to a deal on its nuclear program.
Later, the President warned Iran that “if they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing — and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”
