U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran is acting intelligently and reasonably in ongoing negotiations over the country's nuclear program.
Speaking about Iran, Trump added, "We'll see what we're going to do. With respect to Iran. I think very good things are happening there."
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Ali Khamenei and Donald Trump
(Photo: CameraObscura82 / Shutterstock, Smolkov Vladislav, Reuters/Mohammed Yassin, Iranian Leader's Press Office, Mandel Ngan/ AFP)
“They can’t have a nuclear weapon, but I think that they are talking intelligently, ” Trump said during the White House press conference.
“We’re in the midst of talking to them, and they’re right now acting very intelligent. We want Iran to be wealthy and wonderful and happy and great, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump concluded.
Iranian officials made skeptical statements over the weekend about the negotiations, following remarks by senior U.S. officials asserting that Washington would not agree to let Iran retain uranium enrichment capabilities, but their tone shifted on Sunday, with both sides claiming progress had been made.
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Such progress is likely to raise serious concerns in Israel, where officials fear that Trump is moving toward a bad deal that would leave Iran with the ability to develop nuclear weapons and allow it to ramp up its armament efforts through the lifting of sanctions.
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Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky
(Photo: Sergei Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/ AP, AFP/ Press service of the 24th Mechanized Brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces)
President Trump also addressed the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying there is potential for a good meeting. The two are expected to meet on Thursday in Istanbul under Turkish President Erdogan’s mediation.
Zelensky confirmed he would attend but tied his participation to the start of a 30-day cease-fire, which has not materialized. Trump, who claimed he personally pushed for the summit to happen, hinted he might fly in despite a scheduled visit to Qatar and the UAE. He praised Erdogan as a great host and revealed that the Turkish leader asked him to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria—a request Trump said he is considering to give the Assad-successor regime a fresh start.