Trump says US ‘getting close to maybe doing’ Iran deal, Tehran ‘sort of’ agreed to terms
Adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says Islamic Republic would curb enrichment, promise not to pursue nuclear weapons, and allow inspectors — if the US lifted sanctions ‘immediately’
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that a deal was close on Iran’s nuclear program, voicing optimism about the chances for avoiding a military strike on Tehran’s sites.
“We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” he said, referring to military action.
“Iran has sort of agreed to the terms. They’re not going to make, I call it in a friendly way, ‘nuclear dust’,” Trump said, apparently referring to uranium enrichment.
“It’s very simple,” Trump said in Qatar, the second of three stops during his four-day tour of the Middle East, referring to military intervention. “It’s not like I have to give you 30 pages worth of details. There’s only one sentence: They can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
He indicated that the threat of military intervention remained. “There’s a very, very nice step and there’s a violent step — violence like people haven’t seen before.”
But, he stressed, “I don’t want to do the second step. Some people do. Many people do. I don’t want to do that step. So we’ll see what happens. But we’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace, and if we do that, it’ll be fantastic,” he added.
It was not immediately clear what “long-term peace” meant in this context.
Trump last month quashed Israeli proposals for a series of joint strikes that would have taken place this month on Iranian nuclear facilities, opting instead to try for a diplomatic solution to the problem of Tehran’s nuclear program, The New York Times reported on April 16.
The US and Iran held their fourth round of indirect talks over the weekend, in their highest-level contact since the United States in 2018 pulled out of a previous 2015 nuclear deal.
Oil prices immediately dropped after Thursday’s comments by Trump, who said he was basing his optimism on new statements by Iran.
“You probably read today the story about Iran,” Trump said, when claiming that Iran had “sort of agreed” to the terms of a deal. The president did not specify which remarks he was referring to, but a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei told NBC News on Wednesday that Iran was ready to sign a nuclear deal with certain conditions in exchange for Trump lifting economic sanctions.
Ali Shamkhani said Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons, get rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, enrich uranium only to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, in exchange for the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions.
Trump posted a link to the NBC interview on his Truth Social platform.
Trump just posted NBC’s interview with senior Iranian official on Truth Social. pic.twitter.com/LQenbtLaKi
— Bahman Kalbasi (@BahmanKalbasi) May 15, 2025
US officials have offered varying statements regarding whether they’ll accept a deal that allows Iran to maintain a limited enrichment program, though more recently have asserted that they won’t.
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.
Trump said Thursday that Iran should “say a big thank you” to Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who had pressed the US leader to avoid military action against his country’s giant neighbor.
“Iran is very lucky to have the emir because he’s actually fighting for them. He doesn’t want us to do a vicious blow to Iran,” Trump said.
The previous evening, while attending a state dinner, Trump also expressed his desire for a peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear program, but reiterated that the US would take action in the absence of a deal.
“The non-friendly is a violent course and I don’t want that,” Trump said on Wednesday, saying of the Iranians, “It’s their decision,” while urging Qatar to help reach an agreement.
“It’s a perilous situation, and we want to do the right thing,” he said. “We want to do something that’s going to save maybe millions of lives. Because things like that get started and they get out of control.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday said Iran will not “bow to any bully,” in response to Trump’s criticism of Tehran during his Gulf tour.
“He thinks he can come here, chant slogans and scare us. For us, martyrdom is far sweeter than dying in bed. You came to frighten us? We will not bow to any bully,” Pezeshkian said in comments broadcast live on state TV.
Despite the talks, Washington has continued to impose sanctions targeting Iran’s nuclear program, its oil industry, and its ballistic missile program.
An adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ali Shamkhani, told NBC News on Wednesday that Trump “talks about the olive branch, which we have not seen. It’s all barbed wire.”
In the interview, however, Shamkhani said “yes” to the proposition that, were the sanctions removed “immediately,” Tehran could agree to never develop nuclear weapons, give up stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and allow inspectors to nuclear sites, among other steps.
New missile sanctions
The United States on Wednesday unveiled fresh sanctions against six people and 12 firms — including several based in China and Hong Kong — for their support of Iran’s ballistic missile program.
The sanctions are aimed at organizations involved in “efforts to help the Iranian regime domestically source the manufacturing of critical materials needed for Tehran’s ballistic missile program,” according to the US Treasury Department.
“The United States cannot allow Iran to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Tehran’s attempts to produce missiles and components domestically “represents an unacceptable threat to the United States and the stability of the region,” he added.
Those sanctioned include three Chinese nationals — Qin Jinhua, Qin Dehui, and Wang Chao — who work for a China-based firm which has exported carbon fiber precursor materials to a sanctioned Iranian firm, and another Hong Kong-based company.
“Iran remains heavily reliant on China to conduct its malign activities in the Middle East,” US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
“This is another example of how the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) and China-based companies provide key economic and technical support to Iran and its proxies,” she added.
On Tuesday the United States announced fresh sanctions on Iranian oil sales to China, as Trump’s administration continues its “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran while backing ongoing nuclear talks.
The sanctions follow similar designations in recent weeks, at the same time as Washington and Tehran have stepped up nuclear talks.
The Times of Israel Community.