US President Donald Trump indicated on Friday that he would be willing to accept a 20-year moratorium on Iran’s nuclear program, but stressed that he would require “a real guarantee" from the Islamic Republic in order to reach a deal to end the war.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he was returning from his trip to China, Trump was asked if he had rejected the latest proposal from Iran.
“Well, I looked at it, and if I don't like the first sentence, I just throw it away," the President replied, explaining that the first sentence of the Iranian proposal was “an unacceptable sentence because they fully agree, no nuclear, and if they have any nuclear of any form, I don't read the rest of their letter.
Trump was then asked if 20 years is not enough for him for a moratorium, to which he replied, “No, 20 years is enough, but the level of guarantee from them is not enough. In other words, it's got to be a real 20 years, not a fake 20."
Trump also indicated he discussed Iran during his meeting with President Xi and that Xi “feels strongly they can’t have a nuclear weapon. He said that very strongly. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. And he wants them to open up the strait. But as he said, ‘they closed it, and then you closed them’. And it's true. We control the strait. And they've done no business, literally they've done no business in the last two and a half weeks, which is approximately $500 million a day. So we're doing very well on all fronts."
The President told reporters he is optimistic Iran would agree to a deal eventually and said the Iranians told him only the US and China have the equipment to remove the enriched uranium, to which he has referred as the “nuclear dust."
On Thursday, Trump warned in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News that he is not going to be patient with Iran much longer.
“I’m not going to be much more patient. No, I'm not. They should make a deal. Any sane person would make a deal, but they might be crazy," Trump clarified.
The interview aired hours after Trump hinted that the war against Iran is not yet over and the military decimation of the Islamic Republic could continue.
The comment was made as part of a longer post on Truth Social following Trump’s visit to China.
“When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct. Our Country suffered immeasurably with open borders, high taxes, transgender for everybody, men in women’s sports, DEI, horrible trade deals, rampant crime, and so much more!" wrote Trump.
“President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump Administration, which includes all-time high stock markets and 401K’s, military victory and thriving relationship in Venezuela, the military decimation of Iran (to be continued!)," he added.
Trump, who has repeatedly said that he would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, repeated this stance on Tuesday before taking off for China.
Speaking to reporters, Trump warned the Islamic Republic it must accept the US terms for a deal to end the war and address its nuclear program.
“They’ll either do the right thing, or we’ll finish the job," Trump said, rejecting the idea that rising prices in the US pushed him to seek an end to the war.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)