US President Donald Trump on Friday urged Iran to reach a nuclear agreement “before it is too late,” warning of further violence as tensions in the Middle East reach a boiling point following Israel’s devastating strikes on Iranian territory.
Trump made the appeal in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, where he blamed Iran for missing repeated chances to finalise a nuclear deal and warned of “more brutal” attacks in the future if diplomacy fails, reports BBC.
"I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, but no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done," he wrote.
"There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end."
"Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE," Trump added.
Trump previously said he was aware of Israel's plans before they launched strikes overnight, but made it clear the US military played no part in the operation, according to BBC.
Meanwhile, the talks between the US and Iran on a deal were about to enter their sixth round on Sunday.
On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi strongly condemned the Israeli strikes, calling them a “declaration of war” in a letter to the United Nations, which he also shared on Telegram.
Tehran launches massive drone strike in counter-attack on Israeli sites
He urged the UN Security Council to "immediately address this issue" and described the attack as a “gross violation of Iran's sovereignty.”
According to news agency AP, the Israeli strikes, which took place early Friday, targeted key military and nuclear facilities across Iran in what is being described as one of the most serious escalations between the two regional rivals in decades.
Among the targets were Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site at Natanz, where black smoke was seen rising after the attack.