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Trump wants nuclear deal with Iran, but if it stops ‘proxy wars’
Trump said Iran “must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he urgently wants to reach a deal with Iran to end its nuclear weapons pursuit, but Iran must stop supporting proxy groups across the Middle East.
The comments came as Trump is on a visit to three Gulf countries, that includes stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
According to the news agency AP, Donald Trump raised concerns about Iran’s fast-moving nuclear program during a private meeting with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Speaking later to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders, Trump said Iran “must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons,” adding, “They cannot have a nuclear weapon.” He expressed optimism, saying he believed the US efforts with Iran would “work out one way or another.”
Meanwhile, Al Thani did not mention Iran directly after his meeting with Trump in Doha, but said cooperation between the US and Qatar was boosting their partnership to “another level of relations.”
The two leaders, along with members of their delegations, signed several agreements, including a major deal between Boeing and Qatar airways. The White House said the agreement was valued at $96 billion.
Trump blames Iran for instability in Mideast
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump called Iran the "most destructive force" in the Middle East and blamed it for spreading instability across the region.
Speaking at an investment summit in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, Trump warned that the US would never allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. He offered what he described as both a final warning and a chance for diplomacy, saying Iran could choose between continuing its “chaos and terror” or moving toward peace. “I want to make a deal with Iran,” Reuters quoted the US President as saying.
In Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed Trump's comments as “deceitful,” though he did not directly respond to the US president’s demands.
US-Iran talks
The US and Iran have held four rounds of talks since early last month. President Trump has said he still thinks a nuclear deal can be reached, but time is running out.
His latest call for Iran to stop backing groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen comes as these groups have suffered major losses over the past 19 months, following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
