TEHRAN – US President Donald Trump has told American media he hopes indirect talks with Iran will lead to a “complete dismantling” of the country’s nuclear program, but he will still hamper an agreement to recognize Iran’s right to pursue “private nuclear energy.”
Trump’s recent comments on NBC News add to a series of inconsistent statements from US officials about Iran’s nuclear activities and potential new deals. The president, along with then-State Department Mike Pompeo, called for a new curb on Iran’s military and foreign policy, in particular, to unravel the 2015 contract on Tehran’s nuclear program during his first term.
When Trump returned to the White House for the second time this year, he wrote to Iran in a letter and said he was willing to engage in the meeting without seeking concessions on the nuclear-free issue. Both sides have been engaged in three indirect consultations since early April, and Tehran authorities have said they are also unwilling to discuss the complete dismantling of the country’s nuclear program, except for military and foreign policy issues.
“I think I’m open to hearing that, right?” Trump told an NBC interviewer when asked about the prospects for a potential deal that respects Iran’s right to run the nuclear program. “Civilian energy, it’s called. But you know, civilian energy often leads to military wars. And we don’t want them to have nuclear weapons. That’s a very simple deal.”
The fourth round of the speech was scheduled for May 3, but was postponed for “logistical and technical reasons”, according to previous remarks by Iran’s foreign minister and chief negotiators at Abbas Aragchi in discussions via Oman. Since joining the talks, Araguchi has been cautious about putting on optimism because of history that abandons the whims and commitments of American officials.
Over the years, Iranians have become clear about what they want from nuclear negotiations (removing sanctions) have taken a different position on the voices within the Trump administration. For example, a surprising analyst, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has mentioned the arguments with Iran earlier, according to the Tehran Times acquisition, and prefers to engage in conflict instead.