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By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Yonhap) — U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Thursday that Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon, saying that Washington is “very close” to making a deal with Tehran, and that the next round of peace talks between the two countries may take place this weekend.
During a press availability at the White House, Trump also said that he is not sure whether a two-week ceasefire with Iran, which is set to expire next week, needs to be extended, warning that if no deal is reached, “fighting will resume.”
“Very important is that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, and they’ve agreed to that. Iran’s agreed to that, and they’ve agreed to it very powerfully,” he said.
“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust (which is) way underground because of the attack we made with the big two bombers,” he added, referring to Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile that can be used to produce a bomb.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on April 16, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)
Trump highlighted that the United States has a “very powerful statement” from Iran that it will not have nuclear weapons “beyond 20 years.”
“That’s beyond (20 years). There is no 20-year limit,” he said.
He expressed optimism that Washington and Tehran are nearing a deal, saying that Iran has agreed to almost everything, and that if a deal to end the war is signed in Islamabad, he might go there.
“I think we’re very close to making a deal with Iran. You’ll be the first to know, but I think we have a chance,” he said.
“If that happens, oil goes way down, prices go way down, inflation goes way down, and you are going to have … much more importantly than even that, you won’t have nuclear holocaust.”
Asked when the next round of negotiations will take place, Trump said, “Probably, maybe over the weekend.”
The U.S. and Iran held the first round of negotiations in Islamabad on Saturday and Sunday, but failed to reach an agreement. A major sticking point is a U.S. demand that Iran provide an affirmative commitment not to seek a nuclear weapon.
Earlier, reports said that during the talks in Pakistan, the U.S. proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity, and that Iran offered a counterproposal that it would suspend nuclear activity for up to five years.
Earlier in the day, Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon had reached a 10-day ceasefire deal, which will formally begin at 5 p.m. on Thursday (Washington time). The deal was meant to pause the fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.
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