‘If they behave, we start talking’: Trump sets terms for Iran engagement, nuclear deal

Washington: United States President Donald Trump announced that the US will collaborate with Iran to recover and neutralise its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, contingent upon securing an agreement with Tehran to conclude the three-month-old conflict between the two nations.

During an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press," Trump stated that if an accord is not reached, he intends to continue diminishing Iran's military capabilities until American troops can securely retrieve the fissile material independently.

"If we make a deal that now we're friendly, we'll all go together. It'll be our equipment. We'll take it out and destroy it, whether it's on-site or whether we take it off-site," Trump said.

The president indicated that he was on the verge of finalising the agreement with Iranian officials, but noted he was pressuring them to expand their concessions by vowing to entirely renounce their nuclear program.

"Now, if we don't make a deal, then we're going to take them out militarily very harshly. And we'll wait till we do that before we go, in which case we'll have safety either way," he said.

Trump maintained that no economic sanctions against Iran would be rescinded and no financial assets would be unfrozen prior to the finalisation of a peace accord.

"Yeah. If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking. Yeah," Trump said when asked whether he would consider unfreezing Iranian assets later if not immediately.

Additionally, Trump clarified that he was not requiring Lebanon to participate in any immediate, short-term agreement with Tehran.

"They've conceded the fact that they will not have nuclear weapons. We had a clause in there that (they) will not develop nuclear weapons. And everybody was very happy with it except me," Trump said, adding that he wanted an additional provision to ensure Iran can't execute an end run around a deal.

"And I said, 'Well, what happens if they, not develop, but they go out and purchase, they acquire? I want to put the word, 'if they buy, purchase or acquire,'" he said.

"You know, you've got to have that in there, too, because that's not developing. So, they don't have the right to develop or purchase, acquire or buy," Trump said.

The president also expressed his intention to maintain the deployment of American forces within the region until the military objectives are fully accomplished.

Trump remarked that he views Iran's current administration as more rational and highly intelligent, indicating a willingness to engage in direct dialogue with Mojtaba Khamenei, the country's new supreme leader.

"I would if he'd like to," Trump said, "but I have not spoken to him directly."

With inputs from PTI