US President Donald Trump has said the United States would halt ongoing technical discussions with Iran if Tehran refuses to allow nuclear inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), insisting that inspection access had already been agreed as part of current negotiations.
Speaking to reporters after arriving in Pennsylvania for a visit to the Mack Trucks facility in Lehigh County on Tuesday, Trump rejected suggestions that Iran had not committed to allowing UN nuclear watchdog inspectors into the country.
Responding to questions about the deployment of inspectors under a possible agreement, Trump said, “They’re wrong. They’re wrong. They’re wrong. They know they’re wrong. They told us inside and we have it down 100 per cent for inspections. And if they were right, I’d cancel the meetings right now.”
When asked when inspections would begin, he replied, “At the appropriate time. There’s no rush, but they’ll be on the ground at the appropriate time.”
Talks in positive direction, says Trump
Trump said talks between Washington and Tehran were progressing positively and argued that Iran’s bargaining position had weakened significantly.
“We are doing very well with Iran. They’ve been decimated, and we’re making a deal with them, and we’ll see how that all goes,” he said.
The US President also referred to developments involving oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following the first rounds of technical talks held in Switzerland under a 14-point memorandum of understanding aimed at reducing regional tensions.
“As you probably heard yesterday, we had 19 barrels of oil come off, and that’s the biggest in the history of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Iran will not have nuclear weapon
Reaffirming Washington’s stance on Iran’s nuclear programme, Trump stated, “And the big thing is Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.”
He further claimed that Iran’s military capabilities had been severely damaged.
“We have Iran in a position that nobody’s ever had. This should have been done for 47 years by other presidents. And we have Iran in a position where their military has been totally wiped out. Their leadership has been wiped out. Their radar has been wiped out,” he said.
Trump also indicated that any future economic arrangements with Iran would consider humanitarian needs within the country.
“Money that will be taken out of Iran is going to go to our farmers to give corn, soybeans, wheat to Iran because they have a hunger problem. They have a food problem. They have a medicine problem,” he said.
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