US President Donald Trump says he wants to strike a deal with Iran amid ongoing nuclear talks, but will cripple Iran’s economy if the Islamic Republic “rejects this olive branch.”
“I want to make a deal with Iran. If I can make a deal with Iran, I’ll be very happy if we’re going to make your region and the world a safer place,” Trump says during a foreign policy speech in Riyadh.
“But if Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure [and] drive Iranian oil exports to zero like I did before,” he says.
“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. But with that said, Iran can have a much brighter future,” he adds.
“This is an offer that will not last forever. The time is right now for them to choose… Things are happening at a very fast pace,” Trump says.
He calls Iran the “most destructive force” in the Middle East, and blames the regime for instability across the region.
Offering what he describes as both a final warning and a potential opening for diplomacy, he says Iran has a choice between continuing its “chaos and terror” or embracing a path toward peace.
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