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President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to his central demand in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, stating that Tehran has accepted a condition that it will not develop nuclear weapons.
“They’ve agreed,” he said. “They will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that.”
Iran has not publicly confirmed such an agreement and has denied holding talks with the United States. President Trump’s remarks came as U.S. and Iranian officials prepare for another round of negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the nearly month-long conflict.
“We’re actually talking to the right people and they want to make a deal so badly, you have no idea how badly they want to make a deal,” President Trump said.
The president also expressed optimism about the direction of discussions.
“They’re talking to us and they’re talking sense,” he said.
The president has repeatedly said any agreement must require Iran to surrender its nuclear materials entirely. “We want the nuclear dust. We’re going to want that,” President Trump told reporters Monday while departing Florida, referring to enriched uranium.
At the same time, the United States is continuing military preparations in the region as negotiations proceed. According to a person familiar with the planning, the Pentagon is preparing to deploy thousands of troops from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.
The Wall Street Journal reported the Pentagon is expected to announce the deployment of a brigade combat team of roughly 3,000 soldiers from the North Carolina-based unit. The 82nd Airborne Division is one of the U.S. military’s primary rapid response forces and is capable of deploying a battalion within about 18 hours and a full brigade within roughly 72 hours.
President Trump has said earlier that military strikes targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities and missile capabilities in an effort to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and threatening Israel or other U.S. allies in the region.
The president has argued that the recent military campaign was intended to stop Iran from rebuilding its nuclear program following those earlier commitments.