Trump to NBC: I’m not demanding that Lebanon be part of the deal with Iran
At the same time as an Israeli Air Force strike in Beirut’s Dahiya district, U.S. President Donald Trump told NBC on Sunday that he is “not demanding that Lebanon be part of the deal with Iran,” after reports that Jerusalem had updated Washington on the strike.
“We are very close to an agreement, in my view, but most importantly they must not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “If there is a deal, we will begin removing the uranium and destroying it, together with the Iranians or without them. If there is no deal, we will finish them militarily so that we can safely remove the nuclear material. The nuclear material is buried underground and they cannot get to it, only we and China can get to it. They are a proud nation, which is why they have not signed an agreement yet. There will be no freeing of Iranian assets.”
Trump added that he would like to speak with Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, but said he has not spoken with him yet. “From what we see, he is highly regarded,” Trump said. “He is more rational, much more than his father. He is seriously injured.”
Last night, a source close to the White House told Reuters that the United States will make Iranian assets available to its Gulf allies to support reconstruction and repairs for future damage caused by Iran during the war. It was also reported that the U.S. will consider using these assets to carry out repairs for past damage caused by Iranian strikes, including during the war.
The source also added that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent instructed department teams to assess and report to him on the cost of damage already caused by Iran to U.S. allies in the Gulf.
Last night, The Wall Street Journal reported that the dispute over the release of tens of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets has become one of the main obstacles on the path to an agreement between Washington and Tehran.
In April, it was reported that the United States is expected to unfreeze $20 billion in frozen Iranian assets, despite denials from U.S. officials. At the same time, it was reported that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the nuclear laboratory at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which specializes in handling and removing enriched uranium, as part of preparations for negotiations over Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.
The Iranian news agency Mehr reported that Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran, and sources told Al Arabiya that he is expected to discuss a mechanism for reaching a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, and that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are handling the exchange of messages between the two countries.
