US President Donald Trump has again insisted that Tehran will not have nuclear weapons under his proposed ceasefire agreement, hinting that the focus of the memorandum now being negotiated is on Iran’s nuclear programme.
In a social media post on 31 May, Trump said his agreement “clearly states that Iran will not have nuclear weapons”.
“It then discusses various other aspects of the nuclear programme in great detail. In fact, that’s what most of the agreement talks about,” he wrote.
In a Fox News interview conducted by his sister-in-law Lara Trump on 28 May and broadcast on 30 May, Trump said Iran had agreed not to have atomic weapons.
“The only guarantee I need is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They agreed to that, and that was very interesting,” he said.
Tehran has regularly said no agreement has been reached on its nuclear programme or the highly enriched uranium that could be used to make a nuclear bomb.
Tehran, which has enriched some of its uranium stockpile to near-weapons-grade levels, insists its atomic programme is civilian, not military.
In a video broadcast on state television on 31 May, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Qalibaf, said Iranian pre-stanvists “do not trust the enemy’s words or his promises”.
“We will not approve any agreement until we are sure that the rights of the Iranian people are respected,” said Qalibaf, who is speaker of Iran’s parliament.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi confirmed on 31 May that talks were continuing but warned against “speculation”, saying Tehran could not assess the negotiation process until there was a clear outcome.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators have exchanged several proposals in recent weeks. The New York Times and Axios reported on 30 May that Trump sent Tehran a new framework agreement that contained “tougher” terms.