White House NSC Advisor: "Significant Increase in Possibility of Negotiations with Iran"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunbyeol Kim] Robert O'Brien, U.S. National Security Council (NSC) Advisor at the White House, positively evaluated the possibility of negotiations with Iran, internet media Axios reported on the 11th (local time).

In an interview with Axios on the 10th, Advisor O'Brien said, "I think the possibility of sitting down with the Iranian side and entering negotiations has significantly increased."

Advisor O'Brien stated, "We have obtained very strong intelligence that Soleimani was going to meet proxy allies not only in Baghdad but also in Damascus and Beirut to plan attacks targeting Americans." He added, "We believed that if Soleimani was eliminated on the battlefield, we could prevent attacks aimed at the United States."

Although the removal of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force and a key figure in the Iranian military, has escalated tensions between the U.S. and Iran, it is interpreted paradoxically as increasing the possibility of negotiations.

Advisor O'Brien emphasized, "The Iranians must have realized that the 'maximum pressure' policy will not end and that they themselves do not want a military confrontation with the U.S. I believe the Iranians are backing down."

Furthermore, he added, "We will have more talks on Sunday evening (the 12th)," but did not elaborate on the specifics.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.