US President Donald Trump said on Monday he believed talks with Iran could lead to a deal that ensures long-term peace for Israel, while signaling uncertainty over the whereabouts of Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Trump told reporters that Israel would likely support any agreement reached with Tehran, adding that recent contacts with Israeli officials had been positive.
“I think Israel will be very happy with what we have,” Trump said. “This will be peace for Israel - long-term peace, guaranteed peace if this happens.”
He said Iran had initiated contact and showed willingness to negotiate, though he stressed any deal must prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Trump says Iran must give up nuclear ambitions
Trump said the central condition of any agreement would be that Iran abandon its nuclear program.
“They’re not going to have nuclear weapons anymore. They’re agreeing to that,” he said.
He added that if a deal is reached, the United States would take control of Iran’s enriched uranium. “We’ll go down and we’ll take it ourselves,” he said.
Trump also said he believed recent US military strikes had significantly set back Iran’s nuclear capabilities, warning that without such action Tehran could have developed a weapon within weeks.
“If we didn’t hit them … they would have had a nuclear weapon within two weeks to a month,” he said.
Trump signals openness to oil flows despite sanctions questions
The president said he supported allowing Iranian oil already at sea to enter global markets, arguing that increasing supply would help stabilize the system.
“I just want to have as much oil in the system as possible,” Trump said, adding it was unclear how much revenue Iran would ultimately receive.
“Any small amount of money that Iran gets is not going to have any difference in this war,” he said.
Trump says Mojtaba Khamenei ‘unavailable’
Trump said Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s supreme leader, was “unavailable,” adding that his status was unclear.
“Khamenei’s son is unavailable. Nobody knows what happened to him,” Trump said. “Something is going on with him.”
He said he did not view Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s main leader but noted that several Iranian leadership groups had been targeted.
Trump points to possible political change in Iran
Trump suggested that a form of political transition could emerge in Iran, saying many senior figures had been removed.
“There’s automatically a regime change,” he said, while adding that the United States was in contact with individuals he described as “reasonable” and “respected.”
He also said oil prices could fall sharply if an agreement is reached.
“The price of oil will drop like a rock as soon as a deal is done,” Trump said.
Trump says deal is possible but not guaranteed
Trump said negotiations were ongoing and expressed cautious optimism about the outcome.
“We have a very serious chance of making a deal,” he said. “I think if I were a betting man, I’d bet for it. But again, I’m not guaranteeing anything.”
