Topline
President Donald Trump said the process of retrieving enriched uranium from Iran will be a difficult process, claiming this was because of last year’s airstrikes on the country’s nuclear facilities, as the fate of the second round of peace talks between both countries remained uncertain, as the ceasefire between the two sides is set to expire on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump said he expects Iran to return to the negotiating table.
Associated Press
Key Facts
In a post on Truth Social shortly before midnight, Trump said Operation Midnight Hammer had resulted in the “complete and total obliteration” of Iran’s “Nuclear Dust sites,” a reference to the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
The president said that because of this, the “digging it out” will be a “long and difficult process.”
Trump also attacked CNN and other media outlets in his post, saying they “fail to give our great aviators the credit they deserve,” although it’s unclear what piece of coverage he was referring to.
The president has insisted that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and even suggested that a peace deal will involve the removal of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium from the country—something Tehran has vehemently pushed back against.
Before his Truth Social post, Trump appeared on the conservative talk radio program John Fredericks Show and said Iran is going to have to negotiate and if they don’t, they will “see problems like they’ve never seen before.”
Trump said he hoped they’ll agree to a “fair deal” and build their country back up, but reiterated “they will not have a nuclear weapon.”
What Have Iranian Officials Said?
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf, who was involved in the first round of talks with JD Vance in Islamabad earlier this month, wrote on X: “By enforcing a siege and breaking the truce, Trump delusionally aims to either turn talks into capitulation or excuse fresh hostilities.” The Iranian leader then warned: “We will not hold negotiations under threat, and in the last two weeks, we have prepared to play new cards on the battlefield.”
What To Watch For
The status of the second round of peace talks remains unclear as the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is set to expire on Wednesday. Trump told Bloomberg on Monday morning that it is “highly unlikely” that he will extend the ceasefire if a peace deal is not reached between the two countries. Multiple outlets have reported that Vice President JD Vance and other U.S. officials are expected to travel to Islamabad on Tuesday. Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said Monday Iran had made “no decision” on attending. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian tweeted, “Deep historical mistrust in Iran toward U.S. gov conduct remains, while unconstructive & contradictory signals from American officials carry a bitter message; they seek Iran’s surrender. Iranians do not submit to force.”