US President Donald Trump said he was looking for a complete disarmament of Iran’s nuclear program but that he was open to hearing about a civilian energy program.
“I think that I would be open to hearing it, you know?” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday. “Civilian energy, it’s called. But you know, civilian energy often leads to military wars. And we don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. It’s a very simple deal.”
The US president said he was looking to achieve “total dismantlement” of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee shared a video from the interview in an X/Twitter post, writing, “For those who fear @realdonaldtrump has changed his position on Iran, hear directly from HIM – not fake news from NYT [The New York Times] or WAPO [The Washington Post].”
For those who fear @realDonaldTrump has changed his position on Iran, hear directly from HIM--not fake news from NYT or WAPO. https://t.co/5ZCFr7XztN
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) May 5, 2025
Last week, Trump said the current nuclear talks between the US and the Islamic Republic were going “very well.”
“I think a deal will be reached... We’ll have something without needing to start bombing,” the president added.
Israel anticipates an agreement
Last week, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that Israel estimates that the negotiations between the US and Iran are likely to conclude with an agreement.
The official said Israel does not yet know whether the agreement will align with its demands – namely, the complete dismantling of uranium enrichment facilities – or if it will resemble the 2015 nuclear deal, which Israel considers a “bad agreement.”
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.