U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz spoke to NBC and FOX about the Iran war and the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal in an interview published Sunday. Let’s follow what he said:
Speaks out urgent concerns about Iran’s escalation, munitions and casualties
On Friday, President Donald Trump and his top advisers discussed the escalation in Iran, but fighting appears to have paused since then. CNN’s Betsy Klein reports.
Walz said President Donald Trump is allowing talks with Iran to progress during the weekend pause in attacks.
“As we’ve seen, what the president is doing right now is opening up space for some talks. The talks are ongoing. There are talks going on at all levels, from the more technical aspects all the way to the highest levels,” Walz said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
In a separate interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Walz said diplomatic efforts have been stepped up “especially in recent days.”
But in an interview with NBC, Walz reiterated Trump’s warning that the U.S. military is “locked down and stressed,” and said the president has “all options on the table.”
Walz argued that internal divisions within the Iranian regime were making negotiations difficult.
During a Friday meeting at the White House where President Trump and senior administration officials discussed the possibility of an escalation of war, Gen. Dan Kaine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed concern about the U.S. ammunition stockpile, among other potential negative impacts, CNN reported.
Walz appeared to acknowledge that “a lot of our stockpiles have been depleted,” placing the blame on the U.S. supply of food to Ukraine and what he described as a “depleted situation” that the Trump administration inherited from its predecessor.
Walz reaffirmed that the agreement providing Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear program will not go into effect until Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel.
The controversial deal was announced last week. But the day after it was signed, President Trump added new conditions to the agreement. Saudi Arabia must first sign the Abraham Accords.
A series of agreements aimed at establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has historically resisted such efforts.
“The doctrine of the deal is set, but we are in talks with the Saudis to normalize with Israel,” Walz said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” before asserting that the deal will not be fully implemented until normalization occurs.
He suggested that the Saudis could have gone “to Russia for nuclear technology” or “to China for nuclear technology,” but chose the United States.
