Washington – Hours after the US launched its war against Iran in late February, President Trump laid out an aggressive list of war targets. He they promised “destroying their missiles,” preventing the regime from rebuilding its nuclear program and setting the stage for the Iranians to “take over” the country's government.
Now, as the Trump administration touts a recently signed memorandum of understanding to extend the US-Iran denuclearization and nuclear talks, the president has granted some of those wishes.
Mr. Trump told reporters this week that it was “OK” for Iran to keep some of the missiles. He said he was in no rush to recover Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and he did not want “regime change” in Iran. The memorandum of understanding also leaves many details on the fate of Iran's nuclear program to be decided in further negotiations over the next 60 days.
The president also praised the current leadership of Iran.
“We work with people who I think are very reasonable people, and it was nice to deal with them,” said Mr. Trump about the current leadership of Iran during an event at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday, noting that some of Iran's leaders were killed during the war. “They were strong people, smart people. … They did not see extremes and looked to help their country.”
Here's what the president and senior administration officials have to say about key issues related to Iran, then and now:
Eliminating ballistic missiles
Trump, February 28: “We will destroy their missiles and destroy their missile industry. It will be completely destroyed, too.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, March 2: “I'm telling you what the goals of this mission are. The goals of this mission are to destroy their missile capability and make sure they can't rebuild it, and make sure they can't hide from that to have a nuclear program. That's the goal of the mission.”
Trump, June 17: “If other countries have it, it is wrong [Iran] to be empty. A ballistic missile is not the same as what we are talking about, when we are talking about nuclear. But if Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and they all have something – on average, I think it's okay. “
Context: Although Mr. Trump has said preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is his top priority, and the administration and US allies in the Middle East have long expressed concern about threats posed by Iran's regular military — especially its ballistic missiles, which can reach Israel and US allies and military equipment in the entire region. In every war, the US forces are the most target Iran's missile and missile industries.
The US-Iran memorandum of understanding does not refer to missiles, although Mr. Trump said Wednesday that his administration would work in a “joint effort” with Persian Gulf countries to address Iran's conventional missiles and other “non-nuclear issues.”
Mr. Trump denied on Wednesday that most of Iran's missiles were destroyed or buried under rubble during the war. But he suggested he was not looking to completely eliminate Iran's missiles.
He was also seen mocking some of Trump's hawkish supporters who want the country's missile program completely dismantled. “I've got guys — I like some of these guys, but I don't think they're smart — 'Sir, you shouldn't let them have arrows.' I said: 'What will I do? I'll let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they won't have them?' … It doesn't work like that.”
“nuclear dust”
Trump, April 17: “The USA will get all the nuclear dust – you know what nuclear dust is? That was the white, powdery stuff that our B2 bombs, those big B2 bombs, one night 7 months ago.”
Trump, April 26: “We have to take that nuclear dust. We're going to take it, and that's part of our negotiations with Iran. We don't want them to have it.”
Trump, June 16: “What happens is that at the right time – there is no rush at all. We have cameras from space on it. We know everyone who goes there, that is, like, no one. The B2 bombs hit it. The whole mountain collapsed inside it. Very difficult excavation. No one else can do it, but us, and maybe China. They have machines. it, we will destroy it.”
Context: In the years leading up to the war, Iran amassed a stockpile of 60% enriched uranium, just a short step away from weapons-grade material. Most of those things were held in several underground places which were bombed by the US last year, making it difficult to reach.
During this year's war, the Trump administration strategized on ways to recover uranium, which the president calls “nuclear dust.” Surgery to dig in the dirt and take possession it would be among the most challenging and dangerous special missions in US history, experts say.
In a memorandum of understanding, the US and Iran have “agreed to resolve the disposal of enriched assets” in their negotiations over the next 60 days. The “minimum process” “mixes down” uranium to a low purity level in the field, under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
But Mr. Trump suggested this week that taking the item was not an urgent task, expressing doubt that Iran would return it. He said on Wednesday “we would like to find you psychologically, but no one is contacting us.”
Uranium formation
Trump, February 27: “They want to enrich a little. You don't need to enrich when you have so much fat. … I say, there is no enrichment. Not 20%, 30%. They always want 20%, 30%. … They want it for the public. I think there is no law.”
Trump, June 14: The final agreement must permanently guarantee that Iran “can enrich only for non-military purposes” and “can never exceed a certain amount,” said the president in an interview he had with The New York Times where he said he wanted a freeze on uranium enrichment for 15 or 20 years.
Trump, June 17: “I always say to them: 'You probably have the third largest oil reserves in the world. What the hell do you need nuclear?' …It's a little difficult, though, if you say you want something, some people have it, some nearby counties have it, and you don't let them have it for electrical purposes and things like that. It's always difficult. You have to use a little common sense.”
Vice President JD Vance, June 18: “Obama's nuclear deal allowed enrichment. Ours will not.”
Context: Iran has long refused to completely abandon its uranium enrichment program. Iranian officials insist that the program is intended for peaceful purposes, and as recently as last year, US intelligence agencies discovered that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, even though Iran has enriched uranium in recent years beyond what is needed for many non-military purposes.
The 2015 nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium to 3.67%, well below the 90% used for bombs, with limits on the size of Iran's stockpile and the number and types of centrifuges Iran could operate. That building received criticism at the time, and Mr. Trump withdrew the US from the agreement during his first term in office.
Before the outbreak of war, Mr. Trump said he wants Iran to agree to “no enrichment.”
The US-Iran memorandum of understanding leaves out specifics about uranium enrichment, saying only that the two countries “agreed to discuss the issue of enrichment and other agreed matters related to the nuclear needs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” It is unclear what the final agreement might look like. Mr. Trump suggested this week that it might be “difficult” to get Iran to fully abandon its nuclear program, but Vance suggested the president's red line of not advising remains.
Change of regime
Trump, addressing the Iranian people in a Truth Social video on Feb. 28: “Take your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, perhaps, your only chance for generations.”
Trump, March 29: “We've had a regime change, if you look at it already, because one regime was overthrown, destroyed, they're all dead. The next regime is very dead, and the third regime, we're dealing with a different people than anyone's ever faced before. A completely different group of people. So I would think that this regime is changing.”
Trump, June 16: “You're talking about regime change. I've never been interested in regime change.”
Context: In the opening hours of the war, Mr. Trump made it clear as an opportunity for the people of Iran to overthrow the Islamic Republic, which has ruled Iran since 1979. After the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei he was killed strikes, mr. Trump has said he wants a role in choosing Iran's next leader, and “disappointed” on the decision to elevate Khamenei's son to the post of supreme leader.
Recently, with the Iranian regime still standing, Mr. Trump offered a slightly different view, saying the assassination of former Iranian leaders was a means of “regime change.”
Frozen goods and relief from sanctions
Trump, May 27: “No, we are not talking about any reduction of penalties or giving money. No sanctions, no money, nothing.”
Trump, June 17: “It's not our money, it's their money. And we freeze it at some point, I think we'll have to give it back.”
Context: A key issue for Iran is the lifting – or suspension – of the tough US sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy and frozen its assets, many of which stem from the “maximum pressure” campaign during Mr. Trump or before. Obama's nuclear deal lifted sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear program, Mr. they argued in 2018 gave Iran “many billions of dollars.”
This week's memorandum of understanding he says The US will lift “all types of sanctions” against Iran “in an agreed upon plan as part of the final deal.” The Trump administration has said that no sanctions will be lifted or goods will not be frozen unless Iran shows compliance.
