Trump wants 'direct talks' with Iran on nukes deal

WASHINGTON, Apr 04 (AFP): US President Donald Trump said Thursday he wanted "direct talks" with Tehran on a nuclear deal, after he threatened to bomb Iran if it develops nuclear weapons.

Trump has given Iran's leaders a two-month deadline to reach an agreement on the country's nuclear program, which has strained relations with Western nations for decades.

Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has denied, insisting its enrichment activities were solely for peaceful purposes.

"I think it's better if we have direct talks," he told reporters onboard the presidential plane Air Force One.

"I think it goes faster and you understand the other side a lot better than if you go through intermediaries."

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Friday that tensions around Iran's nuclear programme could only be solved "diplomatically" and called for "restraint," after US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran if it develops nuclear weapons.

Trump last week had said "there will be bombing" of Iran if it does not drop its efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

"The problem of Iran's nuclear dossier can only be solved by political-diplomatic means," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to a question by AFP, adding that "all sides should show restraint and concentrate on diplomatic efforts". Trump wants Iran to negotiate a new nuclear deal after he pulled the US out of an agreement in 2018 that relieved sanctions on Tehran in return for curbing its nuclear programme.