US President Donald Trump spoke as he signed the document in the oval office of the White House in Washington, Washington on February 4, 2025.
Elizabeth Franz | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would like to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran after re-ordering a “maximum pressure” campaign in the Islamic Republic.
Trump said in his true social post that such deals should begin “quickly.” The president said he is reporting that the US and Israel are working together to attack Iran.
“I would much prefer a verified nuclear peace agreement that will allow Iran to grow and prosper peacefully,” Trump said in the post. The president retracted the United States from a nuclear deal negotiated by President Barack Obama in 2018, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Trump’s comments come the day after he signed a memorandum of understanding redressing the Islamic Republic’s biggest pressure campaign. The memorandum directed the secretaries of the provincial and finance ministry to run a campaign that would lead Iran’s oil sales to zero, including exports to China.
OPEC member Iran is the third largest oil producer in the cartel. US Crude Oil and Global Benchmarks Brent Futures were trading more than 1% lower on Wednesday morning.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that he was unhappy with signing the memorandum, hoped that “it would have to be used on a totally great measure.”
“We don’t want to be tough on Iran. We don’t want to be tough on anyone, but they can’t have nuclear weapons,” Trump said. When asked by a reporter on Tuesday, the president said he was willing to speak to his Iranian counterpart.
Trump’s overture to Iran will be complicated by his unprecedented statements about the Palestinians and the future of the Gaza Strip. The president said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that Palestinians should leave the Gaza Strip.
Gaza was destroyed after Israel was launched after more than a year of war on the enclave in response to a catastrophic terrorist attack by extremist group Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 . Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire before Trump took office.
Iran supports Hamas. The Islamic Republic and Israel launched direct strikes against each other’s territories twice last year, raising fears that the Middle East would descend into a full-scale regional war.
