Trump would back Israeli strikes on Iran's missile program if U.S.-Iran talks fail

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would support Israeli strikes targeting Iran's ballistic missile program if negotiations between Washington and Tehran fail, U.S. media reported on Sunday.

Trump made the remarks when he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in December, according to a CBS News report, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

U.S. military and intelligence officials have also discussed how Washington could assist Israel in potential operations against Iran's missile infrastructure, including providing aerial refueling for Israeli aircraft and helping secure overflight permissions from related regional countries, said the report.

However, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have publicly stated they would not allow their airspace to be used for any attacks against Iran, nor for Iran to launch attacks on other countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led the Iranian negotiating delegation to Geneva, Switzerland, to attend the second round of U.S.-Iran talks and other diplomatic activities on the evening of February 15.

Araghchi is leading what the ministry described as a "diplomatic and specialized" delegation. He is expected to meet Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, and Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, among other officials.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled Tehran's willingness to compromise on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. He told the BBC on Sunday that the ball was "in America's court to prove that they want to do a deal."

Hamid Ghanbari, a deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy and a member of Iran's negotiating team, said Iran was seeking a "serious agreement" but would not accept zero uranium enrichment, a key sticking point in past negotiations. Washington views enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran denies.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will represent Washington in the negotiations.

Rubio said Trump prefers diplomacy and a negotiated settlement. "No one's ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran, but we're going to try," Rubio said at a news conference in Bratislava.