Trump Warns Iran of Very Traumatic Consequences if There is No Nuclear Deal

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened Iran with "very traumatic" consequences if it failed to reach a nuclear deal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was skeptical of the quality of the deal.

Speaking a day after hosting Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said he hoped there would be results "in the next month" from Washington's negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.

"We have to reach an agreement, otherwise it will be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don't want that to happen, but we have to reach an agreement," Trump told reporters, launching Al Arabiya and AFP (13/2).

"It would be very traumatic for Iran if they don't reach an agreement," he said.

Trump - who is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to pressure Iran - recalled the US military attack he ordered against Tehran's nuclear facilities during Israel's 12-day war with Iran in July last year.

"We'll see if we can reach an agreement with them, and if not, we'll have to move on to phase two. Phase two will be very difficult for them," Trump said.

Netanyahu has traveled to Washington to urge Trump to take a tougher stance in Iran's nuclear talks, particularly regarding the inclusion of the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile arsenal.

However, Israeli and US leaders appear to remain at loggerheads, with Trump saying after their meeting at the White House on Wednesday that he insisted that negotiations continue.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu said in Washington on Thursday before returning to Israel, Trump believed he was preparing the ground for a deal.

"He believes that the conditions he created, combined with the fact that they must understand that they made a mistake last time when they did not reach an agreement, can create conditions for reaching a good agreement," Netanyahu said, according to a video statement from his office.

However, the Israeli prime minister added: "I will not hide from you that I express general skepticism regarding the quality of any deal with Iran."

Any deal "must include elements that are very important from our perspective," Netanyahu continued, mentioning Iran's ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups such as the Palestinian movement Hamas, the Yemeni Houthi militia, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"This is not just a nuclear issue," he said.

Trump has repeatedly hinted at the potential for US military action against Iran after a brutal crackdown on protests last month, even as Washington and Tehran restarted talks last week with a meeting in Oman.

The last round of talks between the two countries last year stalled after Israel's attack on Iran, and later the United States attacked Tehran's nuclear facilities.

So far, Iran has refused to expand new talks beyond its nuclear program. Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons, and says it will not give in to "excessive demands" on the matter.