Trump Vows to Secure Iran’s Nuclear Stockpile and Slash Gas Prices

“Iran will not get nuclear weapons… gas prices will fall further,” and “we don’t want transit fees in the Strait… the carrier off Cuba isn’t meant as a threat.” President Donald Trump reiterated that the United States will secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and said the conflict would be ended soon.His remarks came immediately after reports that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had ordered that enriched uranium not be exported abroad — a development likely to complicate negotiations. At a White House event in Washington, D.C., on the 21st (local time), reporters asked whether Iran could continue to hold its highly enriched uranium. “No,” Trump replied. “We will secure it. We don’t need it and we don’t want it, so after we secure it we will probably destroy it.”Iran is believed to hold roughly 440 kg (about 970 lb) of uranium enriched to about 60%. The United States has demanded that, as part of any ceasefire agreement, that material be shipped out of Iran and sent overseas, including potentially to the U.S. Uranium enriched to 90% or higher is considered weapons-grade and can be used to build a nuclear weapon.“We’re negotiating now, and in any way possible we will prevent them from obtaining nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “The war with Iran will end very soon, and gasoline prices will be lower than before.”On the Strait of Hormuz, Trump insisted the waterway is international and said, “we want transit to be free of tolls.” He defended the deployment of a U.S. carrier strike group to the Caribbean off Cuba as not intended to threaten the Cuban government, while also describing Cuba as a “failed state” lacking electricity, money, and food, and pledging that the U.S. would continue to help the Cuban people.Earlier, Reuters quoted two senior Iranian sources saying the supreme leader had ordered that enriched uranium must not leave Iran. The sources said Iran’s leadership believes exporting the material would make the country more vulnerable to U.S. and Israeli attacks. They added that, although the gap between U.S. and Iranian ceasefire demands has narrowed, significant disagreements remain over how to handle Iran’s enriched uranium, whether to recognize enrichment rights, and other elements of Iran’s nuclear program.Israeli officials told Reuters that Trump had promised Israel he would insist on including a clause in any peace negotiations requiring the removal of the highly enriched uranium Iran would need to build nuclear weapons.