On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that Iran has agreed to permanently abandon its nuclear weapons program as a central condition for ending U.S. military strikes on Tehran.
“They’ve agreed,” he said. “They will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that.”
Trump added, “We’re actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly, you have no idea how badly they want to make a deal.”
There is, however, a catch. Iran is still denying talking to the United States.
Tehran has not stated that publicly — and denied even talking to the US. But Trump has made clear that the no-nukes demand is necessary for the US to stop its military campaign.
The president’s comments came as the US and Iran are preparing for another round of negotiations in an attempt to bring a ceasefire to the war — while also gearing for a major combat operation if talks fall apart.
I’m trusting Trump on this.
Trump’s optimism is clear, and it sure sounds like he thinks a deal is possible. He even described Tehran as “talking sense.”
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“They’re talking to us and they’re talking sense,” Trump said.
Trump has been clear he wants Iran to give up its nuclear materials — down to the “nuclear dust,” as part of the ongoing peace talks.
“We want the nuclear dust. We’re going to want that,” he told reporters as he left Florida on Monday, referring to the enriched uranium.
Meantime, the Department of War is gearing up to send thousands of troops from the Army’s 82nd Infantry Division to deploy to the Middle East, according to a source familiar with the plan.
The Pentagon is expected to announce the deployment of a 3,000-person brigade combat team from the elite North Carolina-based unit in support of the US and Israel’s war on Iran, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
Trump also revealed on Tuesday that there was also a“significant prize” tied to the Strait of Hormuz.
“They’re going to make a deal. They did something [Monday] that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present,” Trump said. “The present arrived today, and it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money.”
Trump said he could not disclose what the gift was, but said it was "oil and gas-related" and was connected to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian regime was previously charging some tankers millions of dollars to pass through the global shipping choke point, according to a report from Iran International.
Trump added the unspecified present was "very significant."
"That meant one thing to me — we're dealing with the right people," Trump said. "… It was a very nice thing they did. … They said they were going to do it, and it happened. And they're the only ones that could have done it."
When asked about control of the Strait of Hormuz, he said the U.S. will "have control of anything we want."
"They can't have certain things," Trump said. "It starts with no nuclear weapons, and they've agreed to that. … They're not going to have enrichment — any of those things. … We are in about the best bargaining position. We're way ahead of schedule."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading the negotiations.
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