Iran, U.S. nuclear negotiations resume as Trump's war clock ticks down

"I don't think a final decision has been made yet," said Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), one of a small group of senior congressional leaders briefed on the president's plans just hours before Trump delivered the annual State of the Union speech Tuesday evening before a joint session of lawmakers."

"Trump's address provided few if any clues as to his ultimate intentions. He repeated claims to have "obliterated Iran's nuclear weapons program" with airstrikes in June but said the Iranians were starting to rebuild it and "are at this moment pursuing their sinister ambitions.""

"All of those assertions have been questioned by international nuclear inspectors, who have assessed that most of Iran's underground nuclear facilities remain intact, although their entrances are buried under rubble from the June bombings and have not yet been reached."

As the United States and Iran prepared for a third round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva, President Trump maintained a substantial military presence in the Middle East while making contested claims about Iran's nuclear capabilities. Trump asserted he had obliterated Iran's nuclear weapons program through June airstrikes and claimed Iran was rebuilding it while pursuing intercontinental ballistic missiles. However, international nuclear inspectors contradicted these assertions, confirming that most Iranian underground nuclear facilities remained intact despite surface damage. Iran has accumulated highly enriched uranium but maintains it has no intention of producing nuclear weapons. Congressional leaders remained uncertain whether Trump's military buildup represented negotiating pressure or preparation for military intervention.

Read at The Washington Post