Trump: Iran’s centrifuges will either ‘blow up nicely’ in a deal or ‘viciously’ without one
But hours earlier, US president told reporters he hasn’t decided whether he’ll allow Iran to have a limited enrichment program, and nodded at Houthi ‘bravery’ for weathering US strikes
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that he is seeking to “blow up” Iran’s nuclear centrifuges through an agreement with Tehran, but is also prepared to blow them up in an attack if necessary.
Asked during an interview on conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt’s radio show whether the US told Iran to choose either to turn over its nuclear centrifuges and uranium or to “get bombed,” US President Donald Trump responded, “It’s that simple.”
For their part, Iranian officials have asserted that they will never dismantle their nuclear centrifuges.
“I would much prefer a strong, verified deal where we actually blow them up… or just de-nuke them,” Trump said. “There are only two alternatives there, blow them up nicely or blow them up viciously.”
Earlier in the day, though, when Trump was asked by reporters whether the US position is to allow Iran to have a limited nuclear enrichment program, Trump responded, “We haven’t made that decision yet. We will.”
The separate comments further underscored the lack of clarity regarding the administration’s position on Iran, as some officials have said they are prepared to allow Iran to have limited enrichment capabilities, while others have said that they want the nuclear program completely destroyed.
On Sunday, Trump said that the aim of his administration’s nuclear talks with Iran is to achieve “total dismantlement” of Tehran’s nuclear program, but that he is open to letting the Islamic Republic pursue civilian nuclear energy.
Trump’s comments to Hewitt on Wednesday appeared to be closer to the position of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also has said he would be willing to accept a deal in which Iran’s nuclear facilities are physically blown up and dismantled.
At the same time, Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have expressed openness to allowing Iran to have a civilian nuclear program, so long as it does not include enrichment and if it imports the non-weapons grade uranium from abroad, as a number of countries do. Israel has not recently indicated whether it would accept such an outcome.
US Special Envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff, who is leading the talks with Iran, has indicated openness to even allowing Iran to have a uranium enrichment program, so long as it is capped at a certain level akin to the nuclear deal signed by former US president Barack Obama in 2015. Trump pulled the US out of that deal three years later, and Iran has significantly expanded its nuclear enrichment since.
The US and Iran are slated to hold their fourth round of talks this weekend in Rome.
The negotiations will come days after Oman brokered a separate deal between the US and the Houthis in which the US agreed to halt its strikes in Yemen in exchange for the Iran-backed rebel group halting its attacks on US ships in the Red Sea.
Reports on Wednesday claimed that Iran leaned on the Houthis to agree to the truce in order to advance the separate nuclear talks it’s holding with the US.
Speaking to reporters later Wednesday, Trump said he takes the Houthis at their word that they will honor the truce announced on Tuesday.
“We take their word for it… We hit them very hard. They had a great capacity to withstand punishment,” he said. “You could say there’s a lot of bravery there.”
Earlier Wednesday, Vance told the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington that talks on Iran’s nuclear program are heading in the right direction, stating that Tehran can have civil nuclear power but not enrichment that can lead to atomic weapons.
“We don’t care if people want nuclear power. We’re fine with that, but you can’t have the kind of enrichment program that allows you to get to a nuclear weapon, and that’s where we draw the line,” Vance added.
Iran and the US have been in nuclear talks since April 12, their highest-level contact since Washington withdrew from the landmark deal with Tehran in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office.
When asked about whether a prospective deal with Iran would bear any similarity to the previous agreement, Vance pointed to “a couple issues with the earlier agreement,” claiming its “inspections regime was incredibly weak” and allowed Iran to stay on the path to attaining a nuclear weapon.
“We think that there is a deal here that would really integrate Iran into the global economy, that would be really good for the Iranian people, but would result in the complete cessation of any chance that they get a nuclear weapon — that’s what we’re negotiating towards,” Vance said.
The United States and other Western countries have long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons — a claim Tehran denies, insisting that its atomic program is solely for civilian purposes. But Iran, which openly seeks Israel’s destruction, has ramped up its enrichment of uranium to 60 percent purity, which has no peaceful application, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities.
The Times of Israel Community.