A new nuclear deal with Iran is possible, although the details of any pact would have to be carefully negotiated, US President Donald Trump said in a statement broadcast on Thursday night.
“I want them to have a great country, they have great potential, they are incredible people, and the only thing I said about Iran is that they cannot have nuclear weapons and they are religious fanatics,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News.
Asked if he trusted Iran’s leaders, Trump said “there are ways you can make it absolutely safe, and that is if you make a deal.” He stressed that any deal would have to be “checked ten times.”
“They cannot have nuclear weapons. And, you know, if they get them, everyone else gets them, and then the whole thing is a disaster,” he added.
A report published earlier on Thursday suggested that Trump would put Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in charge of diplomatic efforts on Iran.
Witkoff currently serves as Trump’s top Middle East official, playing a role in the negotiations led by former US President Joe Biden’s administration that led to a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip on Sunday.
The president is prepared to try diplomacy with Tehran first before trying to pressure the Islamic Republic, unnamed sources told the Financial Times.
The approach marks a significant departure from Trump’s first term, when he waged a “maximum pressure campaign” in an ultimately futile effort to bring Iran back to talks over its nuclear programme.
In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which Iran reached with six world powers – China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the US, AA writes.
