The U.S. president said talks with Tehran are making progress and that a robust agreement could be reached within the next two weeks.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States is moving toward a deal with Iran that would allow American inspectors to dismantle or destroy key nuclear facilities in the country, including laboratories. Such terms, if formally proposed, are likely to face firm rejection from Tehran.
Speaking briefly at the White House, Mr. Trump outlined his vision of what he called a “very strong agreement,” emphasizing that it would grant the United States broad access and the right to take decisive action without casualties. “We can take whatever we want. We can blow up whatever we want. But nobody has to die,” the president said.
Mr. Trump added that negotiations had made “a lot” of progress and suggested that an agreement could be finalized “within the next two weeks.” His remarks, however, underscored a central point of tension between the two nations: whether Iran should be allowed to continue enriching its own uranium.
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dismissed Mr. Trump’s remarks as unrealistic. “Access to Iran’s nuclear facilities and destroying the infrastructure is a fantasy shared by past U.S. presidents,” Mr. Shamkhani said in a statement posted Thursday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Iran is independent, has strong defenses, a resilient people, and clear red lines.”
The Iranian official added that negotiations should serve progress, national interests and dignity — “not coercion or surrender.”
It remains unclear whether U.S. negotiators have formally proposed the ability to dismantle or destroy Iranian nuclear infrastructure as part of ongoing talks. Mr. Trump’s comments came as he answered questions about reports that Israel had revived plans to attack Iran, a move he said he had advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against, citing the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations.
Instead, Mr. Trump described a scenario where U.S. forces could neutralize nuclear facilities if intelligence suggested Iran was pursuing weapons-grade enrichment. “We can blow up a lab, but there won’t be anyone inside, instead of blowing it up when everyone’s in there, right?” he said.
In a potential shift, Iranian officials on Wednesday said they might consider allowing American inspectors as part of an expanded International Atomic Energy Agency mission — a notable change from past practice, which has excluded U.S. personnel.
Yet Mr. Trump’s remarks about destruction could prompt Iran to rethink even that concession. While the U.S. president remained upbeat, saying his special envoy Steve Witkoff was making headway, Iranian negotiators struck a more cautious tone.
Following talks in Rome last Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said progress had been made but downplayed speculation of an imminent nuclear agreement. He stressed that any deal would require the full lifting of U.S. sanctions and respect for Iran’s enrichment rights.
“Iran is sincere about a diplomatic solution that serves all parties’ interests,” Mr. Araqchi posted on X. “But to reach that, we need an agreement that ends all sanctions and respects Iran’s nuclear rights, including enrichment.”
Other Iranian voices were less diplomatic. Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, described Mr. Trump’s comments as a mix of “delusion, bluffing, fantasy, and confusion.”
The ongoing talks, which have included five rounds of meetings in Oman and Rome, aim to restrict Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for partial sanctions relief. Last Friday, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said Iran and the United States had made “some but not conclusive progress” and that further talks were needed.
International Atomic Energy Agency officials were in Tehran this week, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made a state visit to Oman, underscoring the diplomatic push on both sides.
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