PRESIDENT Donald Trump said the US might be getting closer to an agreement with Iran to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
“I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal,” Trump said in Qatar at an event with business leaders on Thursday. “You probably read the story that Iran has sort of agreed to the terms.”
Trump appeared to be referring to an NBC interview with Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in which Shamkhani reiterated Tehran’s position that it’s willing to limit uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “But we’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace. And if we do that, it’ll be fantastic.”
Oil fell on Thursday, partly on Trump and Shamkhani’s comments. Brent was down 3.2% to $64 a barrel at 8.36 a.m. in London.
The US and Iran have held four rounds of talks about the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities, mediated by Oman. Trump has said he wants to agree to a deal that would prevent Iran from potentially building a nuclear weapon, while Tehran is seeking a reprieve from crippling US sanctions.
The US leader has threatened military strikes on Iran if it doesn’t agree to a deal.
While both sides have broadly sounded optimistic in recent weeks, they still have plenty of highly complicated issues to negotiate.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who’s leading the Islamic Republic’s negotiating team, on Wednesday appeared to suggest some frustration with the US. He said he wanted a “more realistic” approach from Washington in the next round of talks, which is yet to be scheduled.
He’s previously said US officials need to stop making contradictory statements in public, especially over whether they will allow Iran to enrich uranium to a low level or try to force it to abandon its atomic program altogether.
Iran has said it’s willing to end its enrichment of uranium to a high level and limit it to levels required for non-military purposes, but won’t stop enrichment totally.
Araghchi also criticized Trump for a speech in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in which the US leader blamed Iran for tension in the Middle East. Trump also said that Iran’s economy was crumbling while others in the Gulf were soaring. He cited that as a reason for Tehran to sign a deal that would ease sanctions on it. –BLOOMBERG
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