Trump claims U.S. won't let Iran enrich uranium under nuclear deal
Why it matters: Trump's claim contradicts the proposal his envoy Steve Witkoff made to Iran on Saturday, the details of which were reported by Axios on Monday. The question is whether Trump will stick to that red line or show more flexibility to secure a deal than his statement suggests.
What they're saying:"The AUTOPEN should have stopped Iran a long time ago from "enriching." Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had both also publicly committed to zero enrichment prior to Witkoff's proposal.
Iran has consistently said it won't sign any deal that doesn't allow enrichment for civilian purposes.
Driving the news: Two sources with direct knowledge of the U.S. proposal told Axios it would allow limited low-level uranium enrichment on Iranian soil for a to-be-determined period of time. Witkoff's offer also does not call for the full dismantlement of Iran's nuclear facilities.
The White House did not deny any of the details of the proposal described to Axios. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that "out of respect for the ongoing deal, the Administration will not comment on details of the proposal to the media."
Axios' report on Witkoff's proposal sparked immediate alarm among Iran hawks in Washington and in Israel, before Trump himself weighed in.
Iran hasn't commented on the specifics of the proposal, but said it still has questions about when and how the U.S. would lift sanctions if a deal is reached, something the U.S. proposal does not spell out in detail.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
a few seconds ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's unusual deal with Nvidia and AMD sparks concerns, legal questions
President Trump struck an unusual deal with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices that allows the companies to sell certain chips to China in exchange for giving the U.S. government a 15% cut of those sales. But the unprecedented agreement also has raised concerns from politicians and legal experts over whether the deal is legal and would pose a national security threat. Questions also linger about exactly how the deal, which was announced Monday, would work because the U.S. Constitution bars taxes on exports, although some experts said Trump could find a workaround. The U.S. government might receive $3 billion from the revenue split if China's demand for Nvidia's H20 chip — which is less powerful than the company's highest-end artificial intelligence chip — reaches $20 billion, according to a note from Bernstein Research. 'It ties the fate of this chip manufacturer in a very particular way to this administration that is quite rare,' said Julia Powles, a professor and executive director of the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy. Trump's agreement with the world's most valuable company could put pressure on other tech companies and major exporters to strike similar deals with the U.S. government, but it's still unclear what the implications will be internationally, she said. The deal is the latest example of how tech companies are seeking to curry favor with the Trump administration, which has threatened to impose tariffs on semiconductor companies that don't commit to investing in the United States. Apple faced potential tariffs as well, but committed to investing $100 billion more in U.S. manufacturing after Trump criticized the company for expanding iPhone production in India. Trump also placed restrictions in April around the export of certain AI chips, including Nvidia's H20 and AMD's MI308, over national security concerns. He's called for the resignation of Intel Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan, who has faced scrutiny over his reported investments in Chinese companies, but changed his tune after meeting the executive this week. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have criticized the idea that tech companies should split their sales with the U.S. government in exchange for export licenses that allow them to resume chip sales in China. 'Export controls are a frontline defense in protecting our national security, and we should not set a precedent that incentivizes the Government to grant licenses to sell China technology that will enhance its AI capabilities,' Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), the chair of the House Select Committee on China, said in a statement. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, (D-Ill.), a ranking member of that committee, said in a statement that the deal raises questions about its legality and how the funds will be used. 'The administration cannot simultaneously treat semiconductor exports as both a national security threat and a revenue opportunity,' he said. 'By putting a price on our security concerns, we signal to China and our allies that American national security principles are negotiable for the right fee.' The White House didn't answer questions about the agreement. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that 'the legality of it, the mechanics of it, is still being ironed out by the Department of Commerce.' On Monday, Trump defended the deal with Nvidia, stating that the H20 chips are 'obsolete' and less powerful than the company's more high-end Blackwell chip. At a news conference, Trump said he met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and initially asked for a 20% revenue split but they came down to 15%. 'We negotiate a little deal,' Trump said. 'So he's selling a essentially old chip.' Trump's remarks came after a report from the Financial Times over the weekend that Nvidia and AMD would pay 15% of their China chip revenue to the U.S. government. AMD didn't respond to a request for comment. An Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement that the company hasn't shipped H20 chips to China for months but it hopes that easing export restrictions will 'let America compete in China and worldwide.' 'America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America's AI tech stack can be the world's standard if we race.' For Nvidia, the stakes are high. Huang said in a May interview with Stratechery, a newsletter and podcast, that the Chinese market is about $50 billion a year. Restricting H20 chip sales means that the company is walking away from profits that could be used to compete with China in the race to dominate AI. Taylar Rajic, an associate fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said she's skeptical that legal concerns would halt the arrangement because it's unclear who would sue. 'I can't identify who would bring that suit forward,' she said. 'It wouldn't be Nvidia because they're the ones who negotiated this deal.' Meanwhile, Chinese officials have their own fears that Nvidia's chips could have location tracking or remote shutdown capabilities, though the company has denied those accusations. 'China obviously has its own concerns and its own national security considerations that it wants to take into account,' Rajic said. 'It just depends on whether or not they want to buy it from us too.'
New York Post
a few seconds ago
- New York Post
Controversial Princeton prof with Iran ties steps down amid criticism from dissidents, senators
A controversial Princeton professor with strong ties to the Iranian regime has quietly stepped down from the Ivy League school, following a campaign from dissidents to remove him. Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist, retired from his position after 15 years as the head of the school's Program on Science and Global Security on June 1, according to an announcement listing retiring employees on Princeton's website. The professor is controversial for being heavily involved in Iran's chemical and nuclear programs beginning in 2004, long before the country was known to have been building up its nuclear arsenal, according to Swiss journalist Bruno Schirra. Advertisement 4 Seyed Hossain Mousavian, an Iranian security specialist, quietly stepped down from Princeton University after 15 years and amid a federal crackdown on alleged antisemitism at the school. Getty Images The move comes amid the news Princeton could lose more than $200 million in grants from the Trump administration for not tackling antisemitism on campus, The Post has learned. Iranian opposition activists as well as Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a Princeton alumnus, had long urged the school to fire Mousavian. Advertisement 4 The Trump administration reportedly paused the payment of more than $200 million in grants. to the Ivy League school amid allegations of antisemitism. LightRocket via Getty Images 'It's a victory, but one has to wonder if he's staying behind the scenes somehow,' said Lawdan Bazargan, a former political prisoner in Iran, a human rights activist and member of the US-based Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists. The group has waged a two-year campaign to get the university to ditch Mousavian. 'We exposed the truth,' the group said in a press release last week. 'Mousavian is not a neutral scholar but a former ambassador of the [Islamic Republic of Iran] who defended the fatwas to kill author Salman Rushdie. Advertisement 4 Former Iranian Kurdish leader Sadiq Sharafkindi (left) and Nuri Dehkordi were two of the four opposition politicians killed in the Berlin restaurant Mykonos in 1992, while Mousavian was Iranian ambassador to Germany. Associated Press Shirin Ebadi, a former Iranian judge who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, has also previously accused Mousavian of supporting the fatwa. Before being hired by Princeton in 2009, Mousavian had also worked as a diplomat and editor of the Tehran Times, the English-language newspaper which is a mouthpiece for the regime. Mousavian was also Iran's ambassador to Germany in 1992 when four dissidents were murdered in the back of a restaurant in Berlin. Advertisement The group of dissidents which campaigned to get him fired from Princeton has previously alleged when Mousavian was ambassador to Germany, 23 Iranians were killed in Europe for being enemies of the mullahs. In 1997, a German court concluded that the Iranian leadership, including the foreign ministry, masterminded the murders and that the headquarters for plotting them was the Iranian embassy, but did not name Mousavian. During the trial, German newspaper Tagesspiegel reported a former Iranian spy, Abolghasem Mesbahi, said under oath, 'Mousavian was involved in most of the crimes that took place in Europe. 4 Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tours a nuclear facility in 2008. The country's nuclear program is much older than many Western intelligence sources had predicted. AP 'Specifically, in Germany, it concerns the crimes that were committed against Iranian opposition members.' Following the trial Mousavian was called back to Tehran. Mousavian, whose Princeton email address is still active and who is still prominently featured on the school's website, did not return a request for comment Tuesday. He wrote of his retirement on Twitter: 'After 15 years of service at Princeton University, I retired at my own request at the end of May 2025. Advertisement 'I am deeply grateful to the university officials for their support and especially for their commitment to freedom of expression.' The retirement coincides with the imminent publication of a 2004 interview with Mousavian by Schirra. The interview, which is now being published by the Middle East Research Institute, a US-based nonprofit that studies extremism, suggests Iran's nuclear program was secretly active for decades before Western intelligence sources warned of its existence. Advertisement 'After Iraq's attack [in 1980], we announced our defensive chemical and nuclear programs,' said Mousavian in the interview, who was then deputy of Iran's National Security Council. In April, Cruz urged the school to fire Mousavian, saying: 'His presence at Princeton makes students feel justifiably afraid for their safety.'
Chicago Tribune
a few seconds ago
- Chicago Tribune
White House orders a review of exhibits at Smithsonian museums ahead of nation's 250th birthday
WASHINGTON — The White House is ordering a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian museums and exhibitions ahead of the country's 250th birthday with a goal of aligning the institution's content with President Donald Trump's interpretation of American history. In a letter sent Tuesday to Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, the White House laid out in detail the steps it expects the organization to take as part of the announced review. The examination will look at all public-facing content, such as social media, exhibition text and educational materials, to 'assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals,' according to the letter. 'This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions,' the letter said. The Smithsonian said it remained committed to 'scholarly excellence, rigorous research, and the accurate, factual presentation of history.' 'We are reviewing the letter with this commitment in mind and will continue to collaborate constructively with the White House, Congress, and our governing Board of Regents,' it said in a statement. The review, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is the latest attempt by the president to bring the country's cultural institutions in line with his vision. In March, Trump signed an executive order titled 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' which accused the Smithsonian of coming under the influence of a 'divisive, race-centered ideology' and called upon it to 'remove improper ideology' from the institution's museums. In February, Trump removed the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees, replaced them with his supporters and named himself chairman. He vowed to end events featuring performers in drag, indicating he would take on a larger role in dictating the institution's programming schedule. The review of the Smithsonian will initially focus on eight museums — the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The letter said additional museums would be reviewed in subsequent phases. Civil rights leaders have criticized the administration's particular focus on the National Museum of African American History and Culture as efforts to minimize Black Americans' contributions to the country and to recast the obstacles they faced throughout history. The Smithsonian has repeatedly denied allegations that it has changed or removed exhibit details in response to pressure from the administration. Recently, the institution removed references to Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit on the American presidency. A spokesman for the museum said the references, which were added in 2021, were intended to be a temporary measure and said a future exhibit would include details on all presidential impeachments. The review ordered by the White House directs the museums to submit materials from exhibits and drafts for upcoming events within 30 days. Within 120 days, the letter said, museums will be expected to take corrective action, 'replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions.'
