'Trump doesn't want to go to war with Iran,' former top White House adviser says
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FRANCE 24 spoke to Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. Abrams, who served as Special Representative for Iran from 2020 to 2021 in the first Trump administration, discussed the ongoing talks between US and Iranian officials about Iran's nuclear programme – the first of their kind in years. The meetings "should be no surprise", he said: US President Donald Trump "certainly doesn't want to go to war" [with Iran].
However, "we don't know whether they will really be able to reach a deal", Abrams warned, emphasising that "if the Iranians are not willing to give up" their nuclear programme, then "it should be destroyed by the United States and/or Israel".
Read moreTrump warns military action against Iran 'absolutely' possible 'if necessary'
Abrams, who worked on US policy in the Middle East under President George W. Bush, also addressed the war in Gaza, where Israeli bombardments resumed on March 18 after a two-month truce. "The war could end tomorrow if Hamas would release all the hostages", he said. "I think Trump will continue to be pushing that: a further hostage exchange that creates a ceasefire, and that then maybe leads to an end to the war."
"I don't think you can see an end to the war while hostages are still there," Abrams concluded.
