Trump reveals the major holdup in Iran nuclear deal

WASHINGTON — President Trump disclosed Monday that Iran is pushing hard for the right to continue enriching uranium in any new nuclear deal — which the US “can’t have.”

“They’re just asking for things that you can’t do,” Trump, 78, told reporters at the White House.

“They don’t want to give up what they have to give up. You know what that is? They seek enrichment. We can’t have enrichment. We want just the opposite. And so far, they’re not there.”

The president said US officials would meet again with their Iranian counterparts later this week — but indicated that an agreement was not close.

President Donald Trump speaks during an “Invest in America” roundtable with business leaders at the White House, Monday, June 9, 2025, in Washington. AP

“I hate to say that, because the alternative is a very, very dire one, but they’re not there,” he said. “They have given us their thoughts on the deal, and I said, you know, it’s just not acceptable.”

Trump has expressed hope that Washington and Tehran can reach a new agreement to replace the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), from which the 45th president removed the US in 2018.

“They are good negotiators, but they’re tough,” Trump said of Iran’s theocratic leaders.

“Sometimes it can be too tough, that’s the problem. So we’re trying to, we’re trying to make a deal so that there’s no destruction and death. And we’ve told [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] that, and I’ve told him that, and I hope that’s the way it works out, but it might not work out that way. We’ll soon find out.”

Trump has threatened to use military force on Iran if forced to destroy their enrichment program. AP

Reports circulated last week that White House special envoy Steve Witkoff gave Iran a proposal that would have allowed enrichment concentration to 3% for civilian purposes — but Trump fired off a Truth Social post hours later insisting: “Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!”

On Monday, Trump discussed the status of negotiations with Iran during a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — revealing that Tehran was also involved in talks to broker a cease-fire in Israel’s war against Hamas and win the release of hostages held by the terror group.

“Gaza, right now is in the midst of a massive negotiation between us and Hamas and Israel and Iran actually is involved, and we’ll see what’s going to happen with Gaza,” the president said. “We want to get the hostages back, it’s all I can tell you.”