CNN
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US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Washington was “very close” to reaching a nuclear deal with Iran after Tehran agreed to its terms.
“Iran agrees to the terms. They’re not going to make it, I call it nuclear dust in a friendly way. We’re not going to make nuclear dust in Iran,” he said.
Iranian officials have not commented publicly on Trump’s remarks, but comments have been reported by the country’s semi-official ISNA news agency. CNN requested comment from Iran’s mission to the United Nations.
Speaking at a business roundtable in Qatar’s capital Doha, Trump repeatedly said Iran “cannot have nuclear weapons,” suggesting that negotiators “maybe very close to dealing.”
During the Gulf tour, Trump repeatedly warned Iran that he should never get nuclear weapons and threatened to attack the country if it failed to reach the nuclear deal. However, he does not explicitly exclude Iran, which enriches Iran with its own soil. Uranium is used as nuclear fuel, but can be weaponized when concentrated to a high level.
Iran has said the right to enrich uranium is unnegotiable, but the Trump administration has sent a mixed signal to its position on the issue.
In an interview with Breitbart last week, US foreign envoy Steve Witkov said Iran’s enrichment program is the US “red line.” In a previous interview with Fox News, he suggested that Iran could be allowed to enrich uranium to a low level.
Several talks have been held between the US and Iran, but the latest talks in Muscat, Oman’s capital, last weekend, were described as “difficult” by a spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A top Trump administration official gave a more positive review, telling CNN that the discussion that lasted more than three hours was encouraging.
Global oil prices fell after Trump’s comments. The global oil benchmark Brent crude barrel price fell more than 3% to $64 a barrel on Thursday morning. The US oil benchmark West Texas intermediate level fell 3.5% over the same period, trading almost 61 barrels.
It is unclear what Trump meant by “nuclear dust,” but Gulf countries, including Qatar, are concerned that attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities could cause regional environmental catastrophes and drag them into a wider regional war.
Speaking in Doha, Trump vowed to “protect” Qatar.
“Especially for this country, you’re right next door, so you’re not even with stones thrown away? You’re a foot away. You can step into Iran. Other countries are even further apart.
Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian has condemned Trump’s threatening remarks.
According to Iranian media, the US president “sees him to come to our area and threaten us and hopes that we will return against his demands,” Pezeschkian told a group of scholars. “We will never negotiate dignity. This is in the blood of all Iranians.”
“You’ve tried to get Iran to his knees for the past 47 years. We’ve been around for thousands of years and will continue for the next few years,” he said.
On Wednesday, Trump repeatedly poses his threat, saying he doesn’t want nuclear talks in Iran to take a “violent course.”
“There are only two courses, two courses. There are no two. Not two. Being friendly and not friendly and indifferent to be violent. I don’t want that. I don’t want that.
