A peace deal with Iran appeared within reach on Friday after President Trump convened a lengthy meeting in the Situation Room to hammer out the details and make clear his red line on Iran’s nuclear dust.
Negotiations are “close,” a senior administration official told The Post, but not finalized.
Officials are optimistic, but sticking points remain, including over Iran’s nuclear program and the dispersal of humanitarian funds.
However, Tehran has not publicly agreed to give up its enriched uranium before the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
The president spent over two hours in the Situation Room on Friday with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior administration officials to discuss the details, which would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, dropping the US blockade of Iranian ports — and potentially seeing the US digging out and destroying Iran’s leftover enriched uranium.
Trump, in a Truth Social post before he walked into the Situation Room, made clear he wants the US to get the “nuclear dust” to ensure Tehran cannot ever develop a nuclear weapon — something the president has been pushing for since the war began on Feb. 28.
“The enriched material, sometimes referred to as ‘Nuclear Dust,’ which is buried deep underground with virtually collapsed mountains, caused by our powerful B2 Bomber attack 11 months ago, sitting on top of it, will be unearthed by the United States … in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED,” he wrote.
He pointed out that “it is agreed” that the US “is the only Country, along with China, with the mechanical capability” of extracting the uranium.
It’s unclear whether China would play a role in extracting the material, which is buried deep underground.
A senior administration official noted President Xi Jinping offered assistance when Trump met with him in Beijing but added a “couple of options” were being explored.
As of Thursday, the draft deal described by the White House did not include Iran’s agreement to destroy its enriched uranium, despite the president’s claims that it would be removed.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to a separate arrangement that may come in the future or to one that was part of the framework.
A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied that any agreements had been made regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, insisting any discussions on the issue would come after a deal to lift the blockade and reopen the strait is made.
“No negotiations have taken place at this stage regarding nuclear issues with the United States,” Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB.
“The exchange of messages between Iran and the US continues, but the understanding has not been finalized,” he noted.
Tehran did not appear impressed with Trump’s post.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency described the US president’s comments as a “mixture of truth and falsehood” used in an “attempt to portray a fabricated victory.”
Among the points being negotiated in the deal:
Any kind of framework agreement would be the biggest breakthrough in talks since the US and Israel started their war on Iran on Feb. 28 with the stated goals of preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons, taking out its military and ballistic missile capabilities, and encouraging regime change.
“Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb.” Tehran would be barred from collecting tolls on ships in the Strait of Hormuz– ensuring “unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions,” Trump said.
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“All water mines (bombs), if any, will be terminated (we have removed, through detonation, numerous such mines with our great underwater mine sweepers,” he added.
But he also appeared willing to meet Tehran on easing the US naval blockade of ports that have choked off commerce to Iran as a condition of the deal.
“Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!’” he said. “Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!”
Iran’s top negotiator and parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, claimed earlier Friday Iran would not act on words alone.
“We do not trust guarantees and words, only actions are the criterion. No action will be taken before the other side acts,” Qalibaf said in a post to X, before claiming Tehran would force the US to make concessions “not through dialogue, but with missiles.”
The current cease-fire has been in place since April 8 — days before Vice President JD Vance and US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met in Islamabad, Pakistan, for formal, direct peace talks with Iran.
Since then, no additional direct talks have taken place — with Trump ordering the blockade of Iranian ports to begin on April 13 as he increased pressure on Tehran to come to the table and cede to his demand to shutter its uranium enrichment.
Iran has repeatedly claimed its nuclear program is only meant for peaceful purposes and that they do not intend to pursue a nuclear weapon.
In fact, the second line of former President Barack Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal held that Tehran “will ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.”
That’s why Trump has sought the total removal of Iran’s enriched uranium and destruction of its ability to enrich more in the future — something the Obama deal stopped short of.
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