Doha, May 16 – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington is nearing a new nuclear agreement with Iran, claiming Tehran has “sort of agreed” to the terms, though Iranian officials have yet to issue a formal response.
“Iran has sort of agreed to the terms,” Trump said during a business roundtable in Doha. “They’re not going to make, I call it, in a friendly way, nuclear dust. We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran.” The remarks were carried by Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency, but there has been no official comment from Iranian leaders. CNN has reached out to Iran’s mission to the United Nations for clarification.
Trump, who is on a regional tour of the Gulf, reiterated his position that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon and warned of consequences if an agreement is not reached. “There are only two courses – a friendly and a non-friendly. Non-friendly is a violent course, and I don’t want that,” he said.
While Trump has not explicitly ruled out Iran enriching uranium on its own soil, his administration has offered conflicting positions.
U.S. foreign envoy Steve Witkoff told Breitbart last week that uranium enrichment in Iran was a “red line,” yet in a separate interview with Fox News, he suggested that low-level enrichment might be acceptable.
Iran has consistently maintained that its right to enrich uranium is non-negotiable. Enriched uranium can be used for civilian nuclear energy but can also be weaponized if purified to higher levels.
The most recent round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran took place last weekend in Muscat, Oman. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson described the discussions as “difficult,” while a senior U.S. official told CNN the more than three-hour-long meeting was “encouraging.”
Global oil markets reacted swiftly to Trump’s remarks.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell more than 3% to $64 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate dropped 3.5% to around $61 per barrel.
Trump’s vague reference to “nuclear dust” raised alarms in Gulf capitals, where there is concern that any strike on Iranian nuclear facilities could cause an environmental disaster and provoke a wider regional conflict.
Standing alongside Qatari officials, Trump vowed to protect Gulf allies.
“For this country in particular, because you’re right next door… we are going to protect this country, this very special place with a special royal family,” he said of Qatar.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sharply criticized Trump’s remarks.
“The U.S. president is naive for thinking he can come to our region, threaten us, and expect us to surrender,” Pezeshkian said at a gathering in western Kermanshah Province. “We will never negotiate our dignity. This is in the blood of every Iranian.”
“You have tried to bring Iran to its knees for the past 47 years. We have existed for thousands of years and will continue as one,” he added. Despite mounting rhetoric on both sides, officials have signaled cautious optimism that a diplomatic solution could still be reached.
