Trump wants Iran deal that lets US ‘blow up’ nuclear sites, ‘whatever we want’
An adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the US president’s ideas as a fantasy
US President Donald Trump said he envisions a nuclear deal with Iran that would allow the destruction of “whatever we want” in the country including labs, a version of an inspections regime that is likely to be rejected by Tehran.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump briefly outlined his vision of a deal that is “very strong, where we can go in with inspectors. We can take whatever we want. We can blow up whatever we want. But nobody getting killed,” he said.
Trump also said he believed a deal with Iran could be completed within “the next couple of weeks” and that talks had made “a lot of progress”.
But his comments about destroying nuclear facilities highlight a major sticking point between the two over whether Iran should be allowed to produce its own enriched uranium.
An adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, dismissed Trump’s ideas.
“Accessing Iran’s nuclear sites and ‘blowing up infrastructure’ is a fantasy past US presidents shared. Iran is independent, with strong defences, resilient people, and clear red lines,” Ali Shamkhani said in a post on social media on Thursday.