U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and that he would probably meet with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khameneiat some point if things “work out”.
“They’ve already agreed they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told “Pod Force One” in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, while speaking about Iran.
Asked about Khamenei’s involvement in talks with the U.S. on ending hostilities, Trump said, “He’s involved, absolutely…. I think they have a lot of respect for him.”
Trump said he was hearing Iran’s leader was not doing too well but was giving his approval during the negotiations. Trump added that he had not had “the privilege of meeting” Khamenei.
“I’d like to meet him. We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out,” Trump said.
The U.S. president said he viewed the Iran war as a success because the country’s military had been defeated. The conflict, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, has upended the global energy market and has proven unpopular with Americans months before November congressional elections.
“Iran’s a big success,” Trump said in the interview. “We’ll see what happens. We’re going to, we’re working on a deal, and that happens fine. If it doesn’t happen, that’s OK too. We’ll do it the other way.”
He did not specify what that might mean, but has said in the past that the U.S. would resume strikes.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington and Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Gareth Jones)