(AFP) – President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States and Iran were “very close” to a peace deal and that he would consider going to Pakistan to sign an agreement. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump added that Tehran had agreed to hand over its store of enriched uranium, as the two countries mull further talks in Islamabad.
“We’re very close to making a deal with Iran,” Trump said as he left to board his helicopter for a trip to Las Vegas. “We had to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon… They’ve totally agreed to that. They’ve agreed to almost everything, so maybe if they can get to the table, there’s a difference.”
Asked if he might travel to Pakistan to sign an agreement, Trump added: “I might go, yeah. If the deal is signed in Islamabad, I might go.”
The US leader praised Pakistan’s “really great” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and powerful army chief Asim Munir for their role in brokering the talks with Iran. Vice President JD Vance led a US delegation to Islamabad last weekend for talks with Iranian officials but came away empty-handed. The White House says it is in discussions about a second round of talks that would likely be in Pakistan again.
Trump added that Iran had agreed to hand over its store of enriched uranium — a key sticking point for any deal — although he gave no details about any such agreement. “They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” Trump said, using his name for the enriched uranium stockpile that the United States says could be used to build nuclear weapons.
© 2024 AFP
