Donald Trump wants to make a deal with Iran: Here are his conditions

US President Donald Trump warns Iran against pursuing nuclear weapons, says any deal depends on Tehran halting terrorism, proxy wars, and complying with strict verification measures

US President Donald Trump said  on Wednesday that he wants to make a deal with Iran, but he laid out certain conditions - stop sponsoring terror, halt proxy wars, and abandon the pursuit of nuclear weapons.

 

During his address at a US-Saudi investment forum in Riyadh, Trump intensified his rhetoric against Iran, calling it the "most destructive force" in West Asia and vowing that Washington will never allow Tehran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Trump blamed Iran for regional instability and offered a stark choice: abandon what he termed a path of "chaos and terror" or pursue a route toward peace.

 

 

"Iran will never have a nuclear weapon," Trump said, reiterating his administration's commitment to preventing Iran from advancing its nuclear capabilities.   

 

  "I want to make a deal with Iran, I want to do something if it's possible," Trump said. "But for that to happen, it must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons. They cannot have a nuclear weapon... I'm strongly urging all nations to join us in fully and totally enforcing the sanctions that I just placed on Iran."

 

Offer for diplomacy, but with an expiration date

 

Despite his sharp criticism, Trump extended an "olive branch" to Iran, expressing willingness to negotiate a new nuclear agreement if Iran changes its course. He warned, however, that this diplomatic offer would not remain open indefinitely. If Iran’s leadership rejects the overture, Trump threatened to impose "massive maximum pressure", including driving Iranian oil exports to zero.

 

"If Iran's leadership rejects this olive branch … we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure," Trump said, emphasising that the US is prepared to escalate sanctions and other measures if talks fail.

 

US-Iran relations

 

The address follows several rounds of indirect nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran, most recently in Oman, with Omani mediation. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have led their respective delegations in these talks, which remain deadlocked over Iran’s insistence on its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.   

 

  Iranian officials continue to categorically reject U.S. demands for zero uranium enrichment, maintaining that enrichment is a non-negotiable right. However, Iran has offered verifiable guarantees that it will not pursue nuclear weapons, a key demand from the Trump administration, Al Jazeera reported.

 

Sanctions and economic pressure

 

The US has intensified its sanctions regime, targeting Iranian oil exports and sanctioning front companies-some based in China-used to circumvent restrictions, the report said. At the same time, Trump announced the lifting of all US sanctions on Syria, signaling a complex recalibration of American policy in the region.