US President Donald Trump announced that Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and added that he would probably meet with Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei at some point if things “work out.”
Trump made these remarks in an interview with "Pod Force One" on Wednesday and added, "They've already agreed they're not going to have a nuclear weapon," Reuters reported.
When asked about Khamenei's involvement in talks with the US on ending hostilities, the US President noted, "He's involved, absolutely. ... I think they have a lot of respect for him." He went on to say that he has heard the Iranian leader was not doing too well but was giving his approval during the negotiations. He also noted that he had not had "the privilege of meeting" Khamenei.
"I'd like to meet him. We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out," Trump said.
The US President said he viewed the Iran war as a success because the Islamic Republic's military had been defeated. The conflict, which began with the US and Israeli strikes on 28 February, has upended the global energy market and has also proven unpopular with Americans months before November congressional elections.
"Iran's a big success," Trump said in the interview. "We'll see what happens. We're going to, we're working on a deal, and that happens fine. If it doesn't happen, that's OK too. We'll do it the other way."
He did not specify what that might mean, but has said in the past that the US would resume strikes.
Trump's remarks underscoring progress in the US-Iran peace talks come at a time when tensions escalate in the Gulf region after an Iranian drone targeted a passenger building at Kuwait International Airport's Terminal 1, leaving an Indian national dead. Several people were reportedly left injured as the US military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, with diplomacy to halt the war showing little signs of progress, Reuters reported.
The attacks are the latest to test a shaky ceasefire, sending oil prices up more than two per cent, as the strait remains largely closed more than three months after Washington and Tel Aviv launched strikes on Tehran.
The civil aviation authority said Kuwait Airways was resuming flights from Terminal 4 after evaluating damage and taking safety measures.
In the meantime, the Islamic Republic accused Kuwait and Bahrain of allowing the US to use their territory to launch attacks on an Iranian tanker and island, as it condemned Washington for the strikes.
"The foreign ministry... condemns the colonialist use by the United States of the territory and infrastructure of countries in the region to advance its aggressive plans against Iran, and emphasises the direct and unmistakable responsibility of the leaders of Kuwait and Bahrain for last night's acts of aggression," a statement said.
The overnight attack came days after the Islamic Republic said that it is suspending peace talks with Washington and cited Israel's attacks in Lebanon. Tehran has previously mentioned an end to the war in Lebanon as one of the key conditions in the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Since the conflict began on 28 February, the Islamic Republic has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region home to US military bases, hitting civilian and military targets.
Hostilities have occasionally flared up since a ceasefire was agreed in early April, as Washington has pushed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a route that handled roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war.
