A top Iranian official said the country is ready to sign a nuclear agreement with President Donald Trump if the United States lifts economic sanctions against the Middle Eastern nation.
Ali Shamkhani, a leading adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told NBC News on Wednesday that Iran would agree to never make nuclear weapons, to discard its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, and permit the supervision of international inspectors.
“It’s still possible,” Shamkhani said. “If the Americans act as they say, for sure we can have better relations. It can lead to a better situation in the near future.”
Iran’s signaling of an agreement with the United States comes after weeks of negotiations. President Donald Trump spoke of his desire to enter an agreement with Iran on his last day in the Middle East on Wednesday.
“I want to make a deal with Iran,” Trump said. “I want to do something if it’s possible, but for that to happen, it must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons. They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
However, Shamkhani expressed his frustration with Trump, who offered an “olive branch” to Iran.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN MUST HALT ITS ‘BLOODY PROXY WARS’ AND ‘CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON’
“He talks about the olive branch, which we have not seen,” Shamkhani said. “It’s all barbed wire.”
Shamkhani aired his concerns that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may intervene in the nuclear deal as sources close to Trump and Netanyahu reveal that they are at odds with how to deal with Iran.
