Trump sees Iran deal that allows US to destroy nuclear sites
U.S. President Donald Trump said he envisions a nuclear deal with Iran that would allow the destruction of "whatever we want" in the country including labs, a version of an inspections regime that is likely to be rejected by Tehran.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump briefly outlined his vision of a deal that is "very strong, where we can go in with inspectors. We can take whatever we want. We can blow up whatever we want. But nobody getting killed," he said.
Trump also said he believed a deal with Iran could be completed within "the next couple of weeks" and that talks had made "a lot of progress." But his comments about destroying nuclear facilities highlight a major sticking point between the two over whether Iran should be allowed to produce its own enriched uranium.
It's not clear if the ability to dismantle or destroy infrastructure in the event that Iran is found to be weaponizing its enrichment capability is a demand that U.S. negotiators have formally put to Iranian counterparts in their current talks.
Trump's comments came in response to questions about reports Israel has revived plans to attack Iran. He said he waived Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off that idea as it could disrupt ongoing talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Trump described an alternative that gave the U.S. the option to destroy infrastructure related to a weapons program that would be baked into an agreement with Iran. "We can blow up a lab, but nobody's going to be in the lab, as opposed to everybody being in the lab and blowing it up, right?" he added.
Iranian officials haven't yet commented on his statements.
After the 1991 Gulf War, a United Nations-led regime was imposed on Iraq in which inspectors were allowed to destroy nuclear and chemical weapons-related infrastructure.
Iran has repeatedly warned the U.S. against threats of military action. Iranian officials insist their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and uranium enrichment is necessary for its nuclear power sector.
Earlier on Wednesday officials in Iran said they'd consider allowing Americans to be part of International Atomic Energy Agency inspection teams under a future deal with the U.S., a walkback from a practice of excluding inspectors who are U.S. nationals.
Trump's comments about being able to destroy nuclear infrastructure may make officials in Iran rethink the concession.
Despite the apparent distance between expectations, Trump sounded optimistic about a deal, which his special envoy Steve Witkoff has been negotiating.
"They still have to agree to the final stages of a document, but I think you could be very well surprised what happens there, and it would be a great thing for them," Trump said. "They could have a great country into the future."
After talks in Rome on Friday, the Iranian foreign minister and lead negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, said they could lead to progress toward an agreement in the next couple of meetings.
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