US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before walking to board Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP
US President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that Iran has agreed to hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium and that the two sides were “close” to a peace deal to end six weeks of war.
“They've agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” Trump told reporters at the White House, using his term for the enriched uranium stockpile that the United States says could be used to build nuclear weapons.
“There’s a very good chance we’re going to make a deal,” he added.
There was no immediate comment from Tehran. Iran maintains that it has the right to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), while consistently denying any intention to develop nuclear weapons.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday the United States will blockade Iranian ports for "as long as it takes," threatening renewed strikes if Tehran does not make a deal.
"If Iran chooses poorly, then they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power, and energy," Hegseth told a news conference at the Pentagon.
US forces began blockading Iranian ports at 1400 GMT on Monday after peace talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement the previous day.
On Tuesday, Trump told the New York Post that a second round of talks could happen in Pakistan “over the next two days” after initially saying talks were unlikely to return to Islamabad.
One of the key sticking points is Iran's nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has blocked to vessels linked to the US-Israeli war against the country.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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