President Trump said Iran has agreed to his biggest demand in order to stop the war: no nuclear weapons.
“They’ve agreed,” he said. “They will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that.”
Tehran has not stated that publicly — and denied even talking to the US. But Trump has made clear that the no-nukes demand is necessary for the US to stop its military campaign.
The president’s comments came as the US and Iran are preparing for another round of negotiations in an attempt to bring a ceasefire to the war — while also gearing for a major combat operation if talks fall apart.
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“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,” the president said.
He also expressed optimism that a deal could happen, saying Tehran was “talking sense.”
“They’re talking to us and they’re talking sense,” Trump noted.
Trump has been clear he wants Iran to give up its nuclear materials — down to the “nuclear dust,” as part of the ongoing peace talks.
“We want the nuclear dust. We’re going to want that,” he told reporters as he left Florida on Monday, referring to the enriched uranium.
Meantime, the Department of War is gearing up to send thousands of troops from the Army’s 82nd Infantry Division to deploy to the Middle East, according to a source familiar with the plan.
The Pentagon is expected to announce the deployment of a 3,000-person brigade combat team from the elite North Carolina-based unit in support of the US and Israel’s war on Iran, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
One of the military’s premier rapid-response forces, the 82nd Airborne is designed to be a rapid-response team able to deploy a battalion within 18 hours — and a full brigade within 72 hours.
Iran previously committed to not build a nuclear weapon as part of negotiations with the West, yet Tehran continued to enrich nuclear material to levels nearing weapons grade.
Last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer operation “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear weapons program, according to Trump, but he said the latest strikes were to stop them from rebuilding.
The US also wanted to take out Iran’s missile capabilities to keep it from attacking Israel and other allies in the Middle East.
Caitlin Doornbos contributed to this report.
