President Donald Trump has said the United States is prepared to work alongside Iran to remove and destroy its stockpile of highly enriched uranium if the two sides reach a deal to end the three-month-long conflict between them.
Speaking to NBC News' Meet the Press, Trump said any future agreement would involve US-led efforts to secure and eliminate the material, either at Iranian facilities or elsewhere.
“If we make a deal that now we're friendly, we'll all go together. It'll be our equipment. We'll take it out and destroy it,” Trump said.
“And we will go with them, or without them. But we won't have people shooting at us.”
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Trump warned that if negotiations collapse, Washington would intensify military pressure on Tehran before attempting to secure the uranium stockpile.
“If we don't make a deal, then we're going to take them out militarily very harshly,” he said.
The US President said Washington has extensive surveillance capabilities to monitor Iran's nuclear assets.
“We have cameras on it, all over it,” Trump said, adding that US space-based systems can track activity around key facilities.
Trump described negotiations with Tehran as being very close to a breakthrough but said he is seeking stronger language in the agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons through purchases or transfers from third parties.
“They've conceded the fact that they will not have nuclear weapons,” Trump said. However, he added that he wanted the deal to explicitly prohibit Iran from developing, purchasing, acquiring or buying such weapons.
The President also struck a more conciliatory tone towards Iran's new leadership, saying Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is more rational than his predecessor and remains involved in the approval process for any agreement. Trump said he would be open to direct talks with Khamenei, although no such conversation has taken place.
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Despite a fragile ceasefire, Trump indicated that roughly 50,000 US troops deployed in the region would remain in place until a permanent settlement is reached.
“I think we'll keep them there until such time as we have a completion,” he said.
Trump argued that ending Iran's nuclear ambitions remains the central objective of US policy. “The main thing is we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “Can't do it. And we won't do it.”
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