Washington, July 1:
US President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed not to acquire a nuclear weapon ahead of fresh negotiations in Doha, expressing confidence that the US was making progress both diplomatically and militarily while insisting Tehran would not be allowed to develop nuclear arms.
Speaking in the Oval Office before signing a presidential memorandum on vehicle repairs, Trump said officials were already travelling to Qatar for talks scheduled on Tuesday.
“There’ll be a meeting on that tomorrow, in Doha… we’ll see how that goes,” Trump said. “The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not. We’re going to find out.”
The President struck an optimistic tone about the negotiations, saying the US had gained the upper hand after recent military action against Iran’s nuclear programme.
“We’re winning militarily. It’s almost won militarily, I would say,” Trump said.
He described Washington’s objective as straightforward.
“It’s really very simple; it’s the denuclearization of Iran. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, and they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon, and they’ve agreed to that, in all fairness,” Trump said.
Trump did not elaborate on the nature of Iran’s reported agreement or provide details of any understanding reached between the two sides. Nor did he specify what issues would be discussed during the Doha meeting.
Before taking questions from reporters, Trump also referred to lower global oil prices, linking them to developments surrounding Iran.
“Oil prices are way down. We hit $69 today. It was higher than that prior to the denuclearization of Iran,” he said.
His remarks came as he signed a presidential memorandum directing the Environmental Protection Agency to support consumers’ ability to repair their own vehicles and to expand competition in the market for aftermarket automobile parts.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the memorandum would support “the freedom to fix”, prevent action against Americans repairing their own vehicles and end what he described as California’s monopoly over third-party certification of aftermarket parts.
The White House appearance quickly shifted to foreign policy and national security, with reporters asking Trump about Iran before moving on to domestic issues including election laws, Supreme Court rulings and immigration.