Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Trump administration has laid down three non-negotiable conditions for any agreement with Iran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, insisting that Tehran must surrender its highly enriched uranium, abandon any pursuit of a nuclear weapon and restore free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Discussions between the two sides are continuing, but Bessent repeatedly declined to confirm reports that a tentative agreement had already been reached.
“The teams have been going back and forth,” Bessent told reporters during a White House briefing. He said Trump had made his position clear during a Cabinet meeting a day earlier.
“Iran has to turn over their highly enriched uranium. They cannot pursue a nuclear weapon. And the Strait of Hormuz has to free transit. Navigation of the seas has to be free and open as it was before,” Bessent said. “He’s not going to take a bad deal. He’s going to make a great deal for the American people.”
Asked several times whether a temporary agreement, including a reported 60-day ceasefire extension and continuation of nuclear talks, had already been reached, Bessent refused to provide specifics. “Everything depends on what the president wants to do,” he said.
“It’s always a mistake to get out ahead of the president.” The Treasury Secretary argued that the administration’s strategy of military and economic pressure had succeeded in bringing Iran back to the negotiating table.
“President Trump has done something that no other administration is able to do. We have gotten the Iranians to talk about their nuclear program and to perhaps commit to not having one,” Bessent said. “That has never happened before.”
