Trump reveals the major holdup in Iran nuclear deal
WASHINGTON — President Trump disclosed Monday that Iran is pushing hard for the right to continue enriching uranium in any new nuclear deal — which the US 'can't have.'
'They're just asking for things that you can't do,' Trump, 78, told reporters at the White House.
'They don't want to give up what they have to give up. You know what that is? They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment. We want just the opposite. And so far, they're not there.'
Advertisement
The president said US officials would meet again with their Iranian counterparts later this week — but indicated that an agreement was not close.
President Donald Trump speaks during an 'Invest in America' roundtable with business leaders at the White House, Monday, June 9, 2025, in Washington.
AP
'I hate to say that, because the alternative is a very, very dire one, but they're not there,' he said. 'They have given us their thoughts on the deal, and I said, you know, it's just not acceptable.'
Advertisement
Trump has expressed hope that Washington and Tehran can reach a new agreement to replace the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), from which the 45th president removed the US in 2018.
'They are good negotiators, but they're tough,' Trump said of Iran's theocratic leaders.
'Sometimes it can be too tough, that's the problem. So we're trying to, we're trying to make a deal so that there's no destruction and death. And we've told [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] that, and I've told him that, and I hope that's the way it works out, but it might not work out that way. We'll soon find out.'
Trump has threatened to use military force on Iran if forced to destroy their enrichment program.
AP
Advertisement
Reports circulated last week that White House special envoy Steve Witkoff gave Iran a proposal that would have allowed enrichment concentration to 3% for civilian purposes — but Trump fired off a Truth Social post hours later insisting: 'Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!'
On Monday, Trump discussed the status of negotiations with Iran during a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — revealing that Tehran was also involved in talks to broker a cease-fire in Israel's war against Hamas and win the release of hostages held by the terror group.
'Gaza, right now is in the midst of a massive negotiation between us and Hamas and Israel and Iran actually is involved, and we'll see what's going to happen with Gaza,' the president said. 'We want to get the hostages back, it's all I can tell you.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
32 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Photos of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil after 104 days in US custody
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student and Palestinian activist, has returned to the Northeast U.S. after spending 104 days in federal immigration detention. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Washington Post
32 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Israeli strikes on Iran cap dramatic shift in Mideast strategic balance
JERUSALEM — While the world braces for President Donald Trump's decision on bombing Iran and the tectonic waves that could follow, here in the Middle East, the earthquake has already struck. Israel's go-for-broke attacks on Iran launched just over a week ago — after decades of intense but largely covert conflict between the two powers — have dramatically shifted the strategic balance in a way that will probably prevail whether American bombers enter the fray or not, according to analysts in Israel, across the region and beyond.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tulsi Gabbard Flips Sides in MAGA Civil War Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has flipped her stance on Iran after President Donald Trump nuked her intelligence as 'wrong.' Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 25 that there was no intelligence to suggest Iran was building nuclear weapons, though the country had enriched its uranium to higher levels. Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's June 12 'preemptive' strike on Iran—which he justified by saying that the country has a 'secret plan' to weaponize uranium—Trump sided with Israel's countervailing position. On two separate occasions this week, Trump rebuffed Gabbard's earlier assessment of Iran's nuclear program. 'I don't care what [Gabbard] said,' Trump said aboard Air Force One. 'I think they were very close to having one.' In another comment on Wednesday, the president added that Iran was 'a few weeks' away from turning their uranium into a weapon, echoing similar sentiments shared by Netanyahu. Then on Friday, Gabbard fell in line with Trump, attacking the media for having the gall to believe what she said. 'The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division,' Gabbard wrote to her 600K followers. 'America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly.' She added, 'President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree.' Gabbard included a clip of what she called her 'full testimony,' which has since racked up 8.9 million views. The world has been thrown into a state of limbo while Trump weighs a decision on whether to get the United States involved in strikes on Iran, a decision the country warned would be 'very dangerous.' In a statement read on Thursday by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump said he would make his decision 'within the next two weeks' based on the fact that there 'is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future.' Reuters reported that the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with a group of European diplomats in Geneva on Friday for nuclear talks.
