Trump says Iran must ditch ‘concept of a nuclear weapon’ ahead of more talks

President Donald Trump on Monday once again reiterated that Iran must abandon any hope of obtaining a nuclear weapon as the U.S. prepares for more talks in less than a week.

“Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office while sitting alongside the president of El Salvador. 

“Iran wants to deal with us, but they don’t know how. They really don’t know how,” Trump continued. 

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The president confirmed the U.S. will hold more talks with Iran next Saturday in Italy, one week after the first talks began in Oman. 

Details of the discussion remain nil, though they were seen as a launching point as Washington tries to negotiate with Tehran to end its nuclear program. 

Iranian state media reported that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke” together during the two-hour meeting, which suggests Tehran viewed the discussions positively given their initial refusal to hold “direct” talks.

The White House similarly described the talks as “very positive and constructive,” though it also conceded that “very complicated” issues remain unresolved. 

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Trump has said negotiations with Iran need to happen “very quickly” but he has not provided a specific timeline on how long he will allow the diplomatic process to be carried out before he turns to military options.

The president has repeatedly threatened to “bomb” Iran should it not stop its ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon. 

But the extent that the U.S. intends to shut down Tehran’s nuclear program also remains unclear as some call for complete disarmament as Iran also continues to advance its missile programs. 

“I’ll solve that problem. It’s almost an easy one,” Trump told reporters while comparing the end of Iran’s decades-long ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon to the challenge of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“I think Iran could be a great country as long as it doesn’t have nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “If they have nuclear weapons, they’ll never get a chance to be a great country.”