US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was prepared to accept a freeze on Iran's uranium enrichment for 20 years, on condition that Iran shows "real commitment."
Until now, the United States had demanded an Iranian commitment to permanently halt uranium enrichment, with the Trump administration having criticized the nuclear deal of former President Barack Obama, which stipulated that Iran would refrain from enriching uranium for 15 years.
Video: US President Donald Trump after meeting with China's president Xi Jinping, claiming Xi pledged not to supply military equipment to Iran. Credit: Fox News
Trump made the comments in a briefing to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to the United States following his visit to China. Trump added that he would consider removing sanctions on Chinese companies that purchase Iranian oil. Trump told reporters that he had discussed with Xi the issue of Chinese oil firms that have been hit with sanctions over their purchases of Iranian oil, and that his country would decide whether to lift the penalties in the coming days.
The United States recently imposed sanctions on several Chinese refineries over their purchases of Iranian oil, including Hengli Petrochemical 600346.SS (one of China's largest private refineries) – a symbol of Beijing's efforts to renew and upgrade the industry.
"We talked about it, and I'm going to make a decision in the coming days," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after leaving Beijing following his two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
