Politics

/

ArcaMax

Trump says Iran might get sanctions relief if it can be peaceful

Hadriana Lowenkron and María Paula Mijares Torres, Bloomberg News on

Published in Political News

President Donald Trump suggested he might back eventual sanctions relief for Iran “if they can be peaceful,” combining threats and the prospect of diplomacy after U.S. strikes aimed at destroying Iranian nuclear sites.

“We have the sanctions on,” Trump said in comments on Fox News’s "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo. “And if they do a job, and if they can be peaceful, and if they can show us they’re not going to do any more harm, I would take the sanctions off.”

Trump said Friday he considered easing sanctions on Iran after a ceasefire but would instead keep them in place, while lashing out at Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for claiming victory in the war with Israel.

That followed his comments last week hinting at relief when he said he doesn’t mind China continuing to buy Iranian oil. White House officials later indicated that didn’t mean an easing of U.S. restrictions.

In the Fox News interview, which was taped Friday, Trump renewed his argument that Iran was weeks away from getting a nuclear weapon and that U.S. strikes “obliterated” a key underground site of Iran’s nuclear program.

He also injected a note of caution, saying that Iran’s nuclear ambitions had been set back “at least for a period of time.”

U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a foreign-policy hawk who’s close to Trump, suggested the U.S. require that Iran recognize Israel’s right to exist as a condition for resuming U.S.-Iranian talks, which went through several inconclusive rounds this year.

 

“They have to say, for the first time — the Iranian regime — we recognize Israel’s right to exist,” Graham said Sunday on ABC’s "This Week." “If they can’t say that, you’re never going to get a deal worth a damn.”

The head of the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency disputed the Trump administration’s claims about the level of damage to Iran’s nuclear program from U.S. strikes, which targeted its uranium enrichment capabilities.

“One cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there,” Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on CBS’s 'Face the Nation." "It is clear that there has been severe damage, but it’s not total damage."

Iran has industrial and technological capabilities to resume producing enriched uranium possibly “in a matter of months,” he said. “So if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.”

He cautioned that damage assessment isn’t the IAEA’s job and the agency’s information on the state of Iran’s nuclear program is limited.

_____


©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Eric Allie Chip Bok Drew Sheneman Mike Smith John Branch Taylor Jones