President Trump said Iran has been presented with a nuclear deal from the United States.
“Yeah they have a proposal, but more importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad, something bad is going to happen,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while leaving the United Arab Emirates Friday.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump said that Iran and the U.S. are “very close” to a deal because Iran has “sort of agreed” to terms.
Mr. Trump said of the negotiations with Iran, “They’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran. And we’ve been strong. I want them to succeed. I want them to end up being a great country, frankly, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
Mr. Trump told reporters earlier this week during a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar, that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have been in “very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace.”
“If we do that, it’ll be fantastic,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Araghchi has argued that Tehran’s ability to enrich uranium remains a core right of the Iranian people and a red line in nuclear talks.
“We have said repeatedly that defending Iran’s nuclear rights — including enrichment — is a fundamental principle,” he said. “This is not something we concede, either in public discourse or in negotiations. It is a right that belongs to the Iranian people, and no one can take it away.”
Mr. Trump said his demands have been straightforward.
“They can’t have a nuclear weapon. That’s the only thing. It’s very simple,” the president said. “It’s not like I have to give you 30 pages worth of details. It is only one sentence. They can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
On Wednesday, a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader told NBC News that Tehran is ready to sign a nuclear deal with certain conditions with Mr. Trump in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.
Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium which can be weaponized, agree to enrich uranium only to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, in exchange for the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions on Iran.
Asked if Iran would agree to sign an agreement today if those conditions were met, Mr. Shamkhani said, “Yes.”
