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President Trump said he will be "indirectly" involved in high-stakes talks between the U.S. and Iran over

By Bernie,

President Trump said he will be "indirectly" involved in high-stakes talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program scheduled for Tuesday in Geneva, adding he believes Iran wants to make a deal.

"I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, referring to the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June. "We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s. I hope they're going to be more reasonable."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met with the IAEA chief on Monday, said he was in Geneva to "achieve a fair and equitable deal." He added: "What is not on the table: submission before threats."

The IAEA has been calling on Iran for months to account for 440 kg of highly enriched uranium missing following Israeli-U.S. strikes and to allow full inspections to resume at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Hungary, said reaching a deal would be difficult. "It's been very difficult for anyone to do real deals with Iran, because we're dealing with radical Shia clerics who are making theological decisions, not geopolitical ones," he said.

Major obstacles remain. Washington wants to expand talks to include Iran's missile stockpile, while Tehran says it will only discuss nuclear curbs in exchange for sanctions relief and insists missiles are off the table.

The talks are set to take place today. BNN will continue to provide updates as reports emerge.

Topics: Iran, Missile Defense & Alerts, Diplomacy

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