President Donald Trump spoke with reporters on Monday and revealed details of an emerging deal with Iran, despite Tehran's denial of any negotiations with the Americans.
Responding to reporters' questions, Trump said Iran had agreed to give up its nuclear weapons and to halt uranium enrichment on its soil. Asked about the Strait of Hormuz, he said the shipping lane would be managed "by mutual agreement, of both sides."
Trump addressed the Iranian Foreign Ministry's claims that no negotiations were underway, saying, "They're going to need to get better PR people. We've had strong talks, we'll see where they lead – there are a lot of points of agreement, on almost all of them. Maybe it didn't get through. The media got blown to pieces. There were strong talks. Witkoff and Kushner spoke with them, and it went perfectly. If they keep going like that, it will end this problem, this conflict, and I think it will end in a significant way."
On Iran's nuclear weapons, Trump said, "I think it was a real threat. If we hadn't bombed them with the B-2 [the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber], they would have acquired nuclear weapons within two weeks to a month. They would have used them immediately upon getting them. They still haven't managed to extract the enriched uranium, but if we hadn't hit them and used the B-2, they would have had a nuclear weapon within two weeks of the attack. They'd use it on Israel and the entire Middle East."
"Our partners in the Middle East – we have excellent relations with all of them. Many of them were attacked by surprise. So the discussions took place Sunday evening. They very much want to make a deal. We want one too. We'll get together today by phone, and at some point soon we'll meet in person. We're giving it a five-day window and we'll see how it goes. If it goes well, we'll wrap it up. Otherwise, we'll keep bombing," he said.
"We're talking to someone senior. We bombed the first, second, and maybe third tier of leadership. But we're dealing with a person who I think is the most respected man – the leader. Not the supreme leader. Nobody's heard of the son. Every now and then you see a statement, but we don't know if he's even alive. But the people who seem to be running the country – things that were said happened. I don't want them killed. Nobody wants that job right now – to be the head of that particular country – but maybe we can solve this problem," Trump said.
Trump was asked whether Israel would honor the agreement and replied, "I think Israel will be very happy with what we have. We spoke with Israel a while back. It will be a guaranteed, long-term peace for them. If it happens – I can't guarantee that – it's something that can happen, and why not? Tomorrow morning their time, there was a plan to blow up their power plants, which cost $10 billion to build, and in one strike, it collapses. Why would they want that? So they called. They want to make a deal. They're ready to make a deal. It has to be a good deal – no wars and no nuclear weapons. Anything like that is not a deal."
