With peace talks between the United States and Iran underway, Donald Trump struck a hard line on nuclear inspections after arriving in Pennsylvania. Talking to reporters, he said Iran had already agreed in principle to let inspectors into its nuclear sites, and if Tehran now goes back on that, the entire negotiating meeting will be called off.
Trump went after Iran directly. "They are wrong. They are wrong. They are wrong. They know they are wrong. They told us internally, and we have 100 percent solid information for the inspection. And if they were right, I would cancel the meetings right now," he said.
No Inspections, No Talks
His position was unambiguous. He said that if Tehran does not allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to carry out nuclear inspections inside the Islamic Republic, he will cancel the meetings being held with Iran at the technical level. According to him, as part of the ongoing negotiations, Iran has assured the United States of inspection access to its nuclear sites.
Asked about the timing of the inspections, he ruled out any rush. "At the right time. There is no hurry, but they will be there at the right time," Trump said.
Claim of a Weakened Iran
Trump insisted the negotiations with Iran are moving forward, while signalling that Iran's position has grown considerably weaker after the war. "We are doing very well with Iran. They have become badly weakened, and we are making a deal with them, and we will see how it all moves ahead," he said.
Repeating his administration's stance, he left no room on the question of nuclear weapons. "And the biggest thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. Iran is in a strategically weak position," he said. He added, "We have brought Iran to a position no one else ever could. Other presidents should have done this 47 years ago. And we have put Iran in a position where their military is completely... their leadership is finished. Their radar system is also finished."
A Major Disruption at Hormuz
Trump also referred to incidents involving ships carrying oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. He claimed that after the initial round of technical talks between the two sides, there had been a major disruption in the movement of oil. Those talks took place in Switzerland under a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending tensions in the region. "As you probably heard yesterday, 19 barrels of oil supply was halted, and this is the biggest incident in the history of Hormuz," he said.
An Assurance on Humanitarian Needs
Trump also said that any potential economic agreement would take Iran's humanitarian needs into account. "The money taken from Iran will be given to our farmers so they can send Iran corn, soybeans and wheat, because there is starvation and a shortage of food and medicine there," he said. These remarks came during diplomatic discussions between Washington and Tehran, following the talks in Switzerland, over nuclear inspections, easing of sanctions and a regional security arrangement.
