Warning Iran Over "Stalled Talks" in NBC Interview
On the 4th (local time), President Donald Trump of the United States repeatedly stressed the possibility of a key interest rate cut, saying, "I think rates are going to go down. Rates should go down."
According to Reuters and other outlets, President Trump made these remarks in an interview with NBC News that day, again emphasizing the need for a rate cut.
President Trump said, "Our interest rates are far too high," adding, "I have always been good at handling money, and as money has flowed into our country, we have become a rich nation again. We do have debt, but we also have growth, and that growth will soon make the debt look very small."
Regarding Kevin Warsh, the former Fed governor whom he recently nominated as the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), he said, "He, in any case, will also want to cut rates," and added, "If he had come in and said, 'I want to raise rates,' he would not have gotten the job."
President Trump also issued a warning to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, with whom talks have been facing difficulties, saying he "should be very worried."
Initially, a high-level meeting between the United States and Iran was scheduled to be held on the 6th in Istanbul, T?rkiye, with other Middle Eastern countries observing. However, the U.S. online outlet Axios reported that day that the two countries were at odds over the venue. Iran reportedly demanded that the meeting be moved to Oman and changed to a bilateral meeting excluding other countries, and the United States rejected this request.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media (SNS), X (formerly Twitter), that "nuclear talks with the United States are scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. on Friday (the 6th) in Muscat."
President Trump's tough tone appears to reaffirm that the military option against Iran remains on the table under these circumstances.
On immigration policy, President Trump said, "I have realized that we may need a somewhat softer touch," but added, "However, we still have to be tough."
Recently, in Minnesota, two U.S. citizens were killed in a shooting by federal immigration enforcement agents, sparking a nationwide backlash. His remarks are being interpreted as signaling that, while he may show some flexibility on immigration policy, he will maintain a hard-line stance. On the same day, the Trump administration's "border czar," Tom Homan, announced that about one-quarter of the immigration enforcement agents deployed to Minnesota, or 700 personnel, would be withdrawn.
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