Trump emphasises need for Iran deal, warns failure could be ‘traumatic’

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) emphasised the need for a deal with Iran, warning that failure to reach an agreement could be “traumatic.”

Speaking to reporters, Trump described his recent meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “very good”. He said, “We have to make a deal, otherwise it is going to be very traumatic (for Iran) and I don’t want it to happen…If they don’t make a deal, it is going to be a different story. We had a very good meeting yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”.

President Trump said the United States has to make a deal with Iran and thinks a deal could be struck over the next month pic.twitter.com/PbnbhjTAx8

— Reuters (@Reuters) February 12, 2026

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu shared his thoughts following a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Netanyahu said Trump sought his opinion on the ongoing discussions with Iran, adding that he expressed “general skepticism” regarding the nature of any agreement with the country.

The Israeli leader emphasised that the agreement should address not only Iran’s nuclear programme, but also its ballistic missile and support for proxy groups across the region.

In a post on X, he said, “He wanted to hear my opinion. I won’t hide from you that I expressed general skepticism regarding the nature of any agreement with Iran. But I said that if an agreement is indeed reached, then it must include the elements that are very important from our perspective, from Israel’s perspective, and in my opinion not only Israel’s”.

“It’s not only the nuclear issue, it’s also the ballistic missiles and it’s also the Iranian proxies. With that, I would say, the conversation was essentially concluded, although of course it also touched on Gaza, on the entire region, and on other general matters”, he added.

אני סיימתי עכשיו ביקור קצר אבל חשוב בוושינגטון, בשיחה עם ידידינו הגדול הנשיא טראמפ. יש בינינו קשר מאוד הדוק, מאוד אמיתי ומאוד גלוי.

כמובן השיחות התמקדו בכמה וכמה נושאים, אבל למעשה במו״מ עם איראן.
הנשיא חושב שהאיראנים כבר למדו עם מי יש להם עסק. הוא חושב שהתנאים שהוא יוצר, בשילוב… pic.twitter.com/WSfNEHaYzY

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) February 12, 2026

Netanyahu added that while the discussions covered several issues, the main focus was on negotiations with Iran. Netanyahu said that Trump believes that by not reaching an agreement before, Iran had made a mistake.

“Of course the conversations focused on several issues, but in practice on the negotiations with Iran. The President thinks that the Iranians have already learned who they are dealing with. He believes that the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they certainly understand they made a mistake the previous time by not reaching an agreement, may create the conditions for achieving a good deal”, he said.

Earlier in the day, in his Truth Social post, Trump highlighted that while nothing definitive was reached, he encouraged continued negotiations with Iran to explore the possibility of a deal. He also referenced prior US actions against Iran – “Midnight Hammer,” which he said “did not work well for them”.

On June 21-22, 2025, under ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’, the United States conducted strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure, targeting three key sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Iran strongly condemned the operations, denouncing them as a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter. (ANI)