"I Threw It Away": Trump Reveals Why He Rejected Tehran’s Peace Draft
President Trump has expressed a willingness to accept a 20-year suspension of Iran’s nuclear program, but only if the regime physically surrenders its entire uranium stockpile.
President Donald Trump provided a candid update on the high-stakes negotiations with Iran while flying back from his diplomatic mission in China on Friday. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force 1, the President revealed that he is open to a 20-year moratorium on Iranian nuclear activity, provided it is backed by "real guarantees." However, Trump signaled deep dissatisfaction with the latest written offer from Tehran, admitting that he stopped reading the document almost immediately after looking at the opening statement.
"I looked at it, and if I don't like the first sentence, I just throw it away," Trump told the press corps when asked about the status of the Iranian counter-proposal. He described the opening of the letter as "unacceptable" because it failed to reflect prior verbal agreements regarding a total move toward a non-nuclear reality. The President emphasized that he will not settle for partial commitments or vague language, insisting that the only way to ensure a safe world is for Iran to physically hand over all its nuclear material.
Trump clarified that while a 20-year period is a sufficient timeframe, the level of trust remains the primary obstacle. "It has to be a real 20 years, not just talk," he said, reiterating that "they need to take out all the nuclear material." He also dismissed reports suggesting that Iran has preserved its advanced missile capabilities, claiming instead that approximately 80% of those assets were successfully neutralized during the initial phases of the American air campaign.
During his meetings in Beijing, Trump discussed the Iranian threat at length with President Xi Jinping. According to Trump, the Chinese leader expressed a very clear and unequivocal stance that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon. Xi also reportedly voiced a desire to see the Strait of Hormuz reopened to stabilize global energy markets. Notably, Trump pointed out that China has effectively halted business with Tehran for the past two weeks, resulting in a loss of roughly $500 million a day for the Iranian regime.
The President also addressed the domestic impact of the naval blockade, rejecting the idea that rising energy prices are dictating his timeline. "I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon," he stated. Trump believes the American public understands the necessity of the struggle, noting that the U.S. has the regime "under control" and will either secure a definitive deal or "decimate" their remaining infrastructure.
As the 30-day negotiation window narrows, Trump is preparing to make a final decision regarding sanctions on Chinese firms that continue to eye Iranian oil. He credited the effectiveness of the current maritime "wall of steel" as the primary reason Tehran is even at the table. While the President remains skeptical of the "dishonorable" Iranian leadership, he remains confident that the combination of economic strangulation and the threat of a "Operation Sledgehammer" will force a total nuclear capitulation.