By Gao Yun
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Friday, Feb. 13 at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina, saying that Iran has taken a hard line in nuclear negotiations, and that sometimes you have to make the other side “feel fear” in order to break a diplomatic stalemate.
According to Reuters, Trump, speaking to active-duty troops about the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, said: “They’ve been difficult to make a deal … Sometimes you have to have fear. That’s the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of.”
AOL reported that Trump also said on Friday that if there were a change of leadership in Iran, that might be the best outcome as the U.S. government weighs whether to take military action against Iran.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said that a change of power in Iran would be much more complicated, comparing it to the U.S. effort to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from office. Rubio told a Senate hearing last month that Iran’s regime has existed for a very long time and that such a change would require “very careful thinking.”
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On the day of the speech, U.S. officials announced they would deploy a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to strengthen military deterrence against Iran. Trump said this move was to be ready in case negotiations failed or the situation escalated further.
In his remarks, Trump also referenced the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities last June, stressing that military strength is an important backing for diplomatic efforts.
In recent weeks Trump has repeatedly said his top priority is to force Iran to further limit its nuclear program.
This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington and met with Trump, arguing that any agreement should include weakening Iran’s ballistic missile program and stopping its support for proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Oman last week facilitated a new round of talks between the U.S. and Iran. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said the talks allowed Tehran to assess Washington’s sincerity and showed enough common ground to continue diplomatic efforts. The date and location of the next round of U.S.–Iran talks have not yet been announced.
Another important purpose of Trump’s visit to Fort Bragg was to meet special forces personnel involved in the Jan. 3 operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro is currently facing “narco‑terrorism” and drug trafficking charges in U.S. courts; he denies wrongdoing and insists he is Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
Since Maduro’s capture, Trump has cooperated with his interim successor Delcy Rodriguez and sought broad control over Venezuela’s oil industry. About 50,000 active‑duty troops are stationed at Fort Bragg, which is located in North Carolina, a politically competitive U.S. state expected to be a major battleground in November’s congressional elections and again in the 2028 presidential race.
