US president Donald Trump says he wants to reach a nuclear deal with Tehran and has called for negotiations to begin immediately.
On his Truth Social social media site, Mr Trump said reports that the United States, working with Israel, was “going to blow Iran to smithereens, ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED”.
He added: “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper. We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East celebration when it is signed and completed.”
Speaking earlier at a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Mr Trump said if Iran “can convince us that they won’t [make weapons], and I hope they can ... I think they’re going to have an unbelievable future”.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated, “If the main issue is ensuring that Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons, this is achievable and not a difficult matter.”
Tehran has repeatedly denied it seeks nuclear arms, while Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – the ultimate decision maker – has ruled nuclear weapons “un-Islamic” as they target civilians. He reiterated his ban on them the day after Mr Trump’s inauguration to promote talks and easing of sanctions.
Mr Trump said either he or Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian could initiate talks, which could have the support of many senior people in Iran “who do not want to have a nuclear weapon”.
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Mr Trump’s call for talks coincided with the renewal of his maximum economic pressure campaign to induce Iran to conclude a deal and halt its ballistic missile programme and support for Hamas, Hizbullah and Yemen’s Houthis. Under this campaign Iran’s oil exports would be reduced to zero. Mr Trump has ordered the US treasury to enforce sanctions and measures against recalcitrant entities, Reuters reported. Mr Trump insisted he did not want to be “tough on anybody but [Iran] just can’t have a nuclear weapon”.
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Mr Pezeshkian replied that efficient management of Iran’s resources and “good relations with our neighbours” could prevent Iran from being “easily sanctioned”. He was elected in 2024 promising reform, a return to the nuclear deal with the West and an end to sanctions which stifle economic growth. Mr Araghchi said, “Maximum pressure is a failed experiment, and trying it again will only lead to another failure.”
Mr Trump’s overture amounted to reversal of his 2018 withdrawal from the 2015 deal limiting Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions.
Commenting on reports that Iranian agents have been ordered to assassinate him in retaliation for the 2020 murder of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, Mr Trump replied that he had lodged instruction to destroy Iran if he is killed. He stated. “If they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left.”
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