US officials blame strikes on Iran's 'stall tactics' in nuclear talks
"They were not serious about doing a deal," a senior Trump administration official said.
WASHINGTON — The United States launched military action against Iran after concluding that Tehran was not negotiating over its nuclear program in good faith, US officials said Saturday.
The overnight strikes came less than 48 hours after Washington and Tehran held a third round of indirect talks in Geneva. Oman, which mediated between the two countries, had announced technical talks scheduled for Monday in Vienna.
"They were not serious about doing a deal," said a senior Trump administration official briefing reporters Saturday afternoon. “We communicated to them that this was something that would occur if we did not see real progress on a real deal very quickly.”
The officials also cited Iran’s refusal to negotiate over its ballistic missile program, which US and Israeli intelligence believe was largely rebuilt after last summer’s war.
