If we do not reach an agreement with the Iranians, we will target them militarily and harshly until our forces can safely take the uranium.

US President Donald Trump said that the United States will work with Iran to recover and destroy highly enriched uranium if it can conclude a deal with Tehran to end the three-month war between the two countries. He added that if an agreement was not reached, it would work to further weaken the Iranian army to the extent that would allow American forces to safely collect these materials on their own.

Trump said in an exclusive interview with the program:Meet the PressOn CNBC News: “If we make a deal and become allies, we will go down this path together. “We will use our equipment, and we will take out the uranium and destroy it, whether it’s at the site itself or moving it somewhere else.”

He continued, saying: “We will do this with or without them, but we will not allow people to shoot at us, okay? Now, if we do not reach an agreement, we will target them militarily and very harshly, and we will wait until we accomplish that before we move. In both cases, we will guarantee our security.”

Trump also indicated that the United States is able to monitor Iranian activities because it has “cameras in space” thanks to the “Space Force” that he created, and he told anchor Kristen Welker: “We have cameras that monitor everything out there. If anyone walked in that place, if you walked in there, I would be able to read your first name written on your jacket. These are cameras in space, it is truly amazing technology.”

In the context of his most detailed statements to date regarding the status of negotiations for a permanent cessation of the conflict and his vision for a possible agreement, Trump stated that he looked forward to maintaining the American forces deployed in the region until “the mission is completed,” stressing: “I do not consider them to be in danger.”

Trump explained that the two parties are “very close” to signing a treaty, but he is pressuring Iran to move forward in abandoning its nuclear ambitions, adding: “We have a few points of contention, and they do not seem to be major points. They have resigned themselves to the fact that they will not have nuclear weapons. We had a clause that stated that they (will not develop) nuclear weapons, and everyone was very happy about it except me.”

Trump explained that he wanted additional text to ensure that Iran would not circumvent the agreement: “I said: Well, what happens if they don’t develop, but go and buy or seize? I want to add the words: If they buy, or buy, or seize. That should be put in as well, because this does not fall under the concept of development. Therefore, they will not have the right to develop, or buy, or seize.” He added that the Iranians resisted this demand “a little” at first, then backed down.

Trump indicated that he finds the new Iranian leadership “more rational and very smart” after the Israeli and American attacks that resulted in the killing of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several of his aides. He revealed that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader, has taken over his father’s position and is “part of” the process of approving the agreement, stressing his openness to holding direct talks with the new Supreme Leader: “I will do that if he wishes, but I have not spoken to him directly yet.”

The president favorably compared Mojtaba Khamenei — who has not been seen in public since the war began — and his father, saying: “He is younger, and I think he is more rational. But he is injured, very badly injured, and there is a certain courage in that. Many people, if they were injured this badly, would not be talking about ‘How are things going with the United States?’ Rather, they would have other concerns. So, there is obvious courage, but his injury is very serious.”

Trump refused to definitively say whether he knows the exact location of the current Iranian leader or whether this location is inside Iran, saying: “I don’t want to say whether I know where he is or not, but there is a strong possibility that I do.”

Behind the scenes of the interview and economic challenges

The interview was conducted inside a metal-roofed barn before Trump participated in a roundtable dedicated to the agriculture sector. A severe rainstorm that hit the roof caused the interview to be postponed several times, and a technical malfunction caused it in another district. Trump ended the interview about 50 minutes after sitting down, after he showed clear frustration during a heated discussion about election interference and his criticism of the press.

The war has proven unpopular in America, as opinion polls consistently show that the majority of the public opposes it. According to a poll conducted by the “The Economist/YouGovThis week, 68% of adults said the United States “should make a deal to end the war in Iran as quickly as possible,” including 55% of voters who supported Trump in the 2024 election, a campaign in which Trump focused in part on reminding voters that he did not start “any new wars” in his first term.

But the president hinted in the interview that Americans should be more patient with Iran, adding that part of the challenge of formulating a quick peace plan is that it requires a complete shift in Tehran’s longstanding stance toward the United States. He said of the Iranians: “Because they are strong and proud of themselves. There are things they never thought they would do, but they will have to do them now; they have no other choice. This takes time, and we are talking about 47 years of getting away with whatever they want to do.”

Trump blamed his predecessors for Iran’s development of a nuclear weapons program. Under President Barack Obama, a six-nation negotiating team reached an agreement with Iran to limit its development of nuclear weapons in exchange for easing international sanctions, which led to the release of frozen Iranian funds. Parties to that agreement — under which Iran exported almost all of its uranium, dismantled most of its centrifuges and allowed international inspection — included China and Russia.

Trump, who tore up that agreement during his first term, stressed that any new agreement with Iran would not include the immediate unfreezing of any of its assets, noting that “that will come later. Yes, if they behave well, and if they do a good job, then we will start talking.” He criticized Obama for sending cash to Iran — as compensation for an uncompleted arms deal — shortly after the original nuclear deal was signed.

When Welker pressed Trump on why he had not negotiated a new agreement with Iran at that time, he noted that such deals could take “years,” adding: “These things take years. These people have been fighting for 47 years, and they have been killing Americans and causing their limbs to be amputated and their faces to be mutilated in a terrible, horrific way.”

At the present time, Trump stated that he has no plans to withdraw US forces, even in light of the fragile temporary ceasefire full of violations, and despite his assessment that Iran’s defensive and offensive capabilities have been severely damaged. He said: “Look, we have completely destroyed their army. They have some missiles and some drones left,” adding that he believes that Iran has only “21% or 22%” remaining of its pre-war missile stockpile.

But this does not mean that the 50,000 American soldiers deployed in the region will return home soon, as Trump said: “It costs us very little for them to remain there.” He later added: “I would say that withdrawing them would be reckless because we may have to use them” to put pressure on Iran at the negotiating table, adding: “This is unlikely, but I think we will keep them there until we reach the final completion of the agreement.”

Trump considered that this completion would be a strong boost to the American economy, in which consumers suffered from high fuel prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping lane through which about 20% of the world’s oil passes. He pointed out that the costs incurred by Iran are “unsustainable” because “their economy is collapsing.”

In contrast, Trump praised the US economy, describing the jobs report released on the day of the interview as “really strong,” but acknowledged that he had been forced to make the decision to confront Iran and see prices rising in recent months as a result, saying: “Fertilizer was very cheap, everything was cheap. Gasoline was very low. I could have kept it that way, but I said to myself I have to change course a little bit. The farmers will understand that better than anyone else. We will have more expensive gasoline, somewhat more expensive fertilizer, etc. “A nuclear weapon is in the hands of very dangerous people.”

Trump concluded by saying that the Americans will witness a broad breakthrough once the war ends: “And when we reach completion, you will see things that you have never seen before; the price of oil will fall. But the main thing is that we cannot allow Iran to possess a nuclear weapon. We cannot do that, and we will not do that.”