President Trump repeatedly declares an interest in negotiations with Iran even as he signs a memorandum reimplementing “maximum pressure” toward Iran and holds a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In signing the memorandum, President Trump said that he was “torn” in doing so, and that his reluctance stemmed from his desire for a nuclear deal. “I’m signing this, and hopefully it will be a document which won’t be very important and will hardly have to be used.” He also signaled that many of Iran’s leaders do not want the country to cross the nuclear threshold, stating “There are many people at the top ranks of Iran that do not want to have a nuclear weapon.”
In the joint press conference, he declared his interest in a new nuclear deal, stating:
“I say this to Iran, who is listening very intently: I would love to be able to make a great deal, a deal where you can get on with your lives and you’ll do wonderfully. You’ll do wonderfully.
Incredible people. Industrious, beautiful, just an unbelievable group of people in Iran. And I know them well. I have many friends from Iran and many friends that are Americans from Iran. And they’re very proud of Iran. But I hated to do it, just so you understand. And I hope we’re going to be able to do something so that it doesn’t end up in a very catastrophic situation. I don’t want to see that happen. I really want to see peace. And I hope that we’re able to do that.
They cannot have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple. I’m not putting restrictions. I’m not. They cannot have one thing. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. And if I think that they will have a nuclear weapon, despite what I just said, I think that’s going to be very unfortunate for them.
If on the other hand, they can convince us that they won’t — and I hope they can, it’s very easy to do, it’s actually very easy to do — I think they’re going to have an unbelievable future.”