The chances of an agreement between the United States and Iran that could end fears of the latter having a nuclear weapon have increased following comments from President Donald Trump and an Iranian leader.
Trump launched his Middle East visit by saying Iran needed to “make the right decision” about its nuclear program “because something’s going to happen one way or the other,” according to CBS.
“So we’ll either do it friendly or we’ll do it very unfriendly,” Trump said amid talks between the two countries that have gone through four rounds. “And that won’t be pleasant.”
Trump doubled down on that position in a speech while he was visiting Saudi Arabia.
“I want to make a deal with Iran. I want to do something if possible. But for that to happen, it must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons. They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said Wednesday, according to Fox News
That led Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to say a deal could be worked out, according to NBC.
NBC reported that he told the network 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.”
Shamkhani was asked if a deal could be signed today if the U.S. met those conditions and said, “Yes.”
“It’s still possible. If the Americans act as they say, for sure we can have better relations,” Shamkhani said, adding, “it can lead to a better situation in the near future.”
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But the ongoing rhetoric was not all sweetness and light.
“He thinks he can come here, chant slogans, and scare us. For us, martyrdom is far sweeter than dying in bed,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said. “You came to frighten us? We will not bow to any bully.”
Shamkhani also said he disliked Trump’s tone, saying Trump talked about an “olive branch” while his words were “barbed wire.”
Trump’s Thursday speech in Qatar showed no signs of a change in his position.
“I want them to succeed. I want them to end up being a great country, frankly, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon. That’s the only thing. It’s very simple,” Trump said, according to Fox News.
“It’s not like I have to give you 30 pages’ worth of details. There’s only one sentence. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. And I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” he said.
“There’s two steps. There’s a very, very nice step, and there’s a violent step. There’s violence like people haven’t seen before, and I hope we’re not going to have to do this. I don’t want to do the second step. Some people do. Many people do. I don’t want to do that step,” he said.
“So we’ll see what happens, but we’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace. And if we do that, it’ll be fantastic,” Trump said.
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