Trump Signals Possible Iran Deal, Says Tehran ‘Cannot Have Nuclear Weapons’

Washington, May 2026 : US President Donald Trump on Wednesday indicated that Washington and Tehran may be moving closer to a possible agreement, saying recent talks with Iran had shown progress even as he reiterated that the Islamic Republic would never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said discussions with Iran over the past 24 hours had been “very good” and suggested that a breakthrough could emerge soon if both sides remained engaged in diplomacy.

“They want to make a deal badly,” Trump said. “We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal.”

The US President dismissed suggestions that Iran was refusing to cooperate in negotiations and questioned media assumptions about Tehran’s position.

“Well, why do you say they refused to submit? You don’t know that,” Trump told a reporter during the interaction.

However, Trump once again underlined Washington’s long-standing position on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, asserting that Tehran would not be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons under any circumstances.

“They can’t have nuclear weapons, it’s very simple,” he said.

Trump also claimed that Iran’s military infrastructure had suffered extensive damage during the recent conflict in the Gulf region. According to him, the country’s naval and air capabilities had been largely destroyed.

“They had a Navy with 159 ships, and now every ship is blown to pieces and lying at the bottom of the water,” Trump said. “They had an Air Force, lots of planes, and they don’t have any planes.”

He further alleged that Iran’s anti-aircraft systems, missile capabilities and radar networks had been severely weakened.

“Their leaders are all dead. So, I think we won,” Trump remarked, referring to the conflict.

Despite the strong rhetoric, Trump stressed that diplomacy remained an option and claimed that Iran would take decades to rebuild its military strength if hostilities ended immediately.

“If we left right now, Iran, it would take them 20 years to rebuild,” he said.

Asked whether Washington had fixed any deadline for the ongoing negotiations, Trump declined to provide a timeline.

“Never a deadline,” he said. “It’ll happen.”

Trump also defended the economic impact of the conflict, arguing that global markets and oil prices had remained more stable than expected despite fears of severe disruption in the Gulf.

“I thought oil prices would go to $200 or $250. It’s at $100 now,” he said.

The President added that US stock markets had shown resilience during the crisis.

“The stock market is higher now than when we started this war,” Trump claimed.

Trump also revealed that executives from major US energy firms, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, had recently held discussions at the White House regarding renewed interest in Venezuela’s energy sector.

Meanwhile, Iran denied reports suggesting that a final agreement with Washington was imminent. Iranian officials said no fresh written messages had been exchanged between the two countries in recent days.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency described recent reports about a near-final agreement as “fabricated”, claiming they were intended to influence global oil markets and reduce prices rather than reflect actual diplomatic developments.

According to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, Tehran is still reviewing the latest US proposal and will issue a response after completing its internal assessment.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)