Trump Signals Iran May Be Allowed to Keep Enriching Uranium, Reversing Core Red Line
Trump told the NYT he may accept a 15-year enrichment suspension rather than zero enrichment, directly contradicting his own posted red line from 2025.
In a stunning reversal of one of his core stated demands, President Trump signaled in a New York Times interview published Monday that he may allow Iran to continue enriching uranium under a final nuclear agreement, undermining what had been a central American red line heading into negotiations.
Trump told the Times that the two sides are still negotiating over whether Iran would suspend its nuclear enrichment for 20 years, but hinted he might settle for a 15-year suspension, with Iran remaining permanently limited to enriching at low levels "that could never be used by the military."
The statement marks a dramatic climbdown from Trump's own publicly declared position. As recently as June 2025, Trump posted on Truth Social that under any potential agreement, the United States would "NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM," drawing a hard line after reports emerged that his own envoy Steve Witkoff had privately offered Iran the right to retain limited low-level enrichment.
The U.S. position throughout 2025 and into 2026 had been that Iran must conduct "zero enrichment," a demand Iran repeatedly rejected.
The walk-back is likely to inflame critics who accused the Trump administration of negotiating from a position of weakness. Iran currently holds an estimated 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, just short of the 90% required for weapons-grade material, but at a level from which reaching weapons-grade becomes significantly faster.
Congressional Republicans had specifically cited the contrast with the Obama-era JCPOA as a selling point for the new deal. "Unlike the agreement reached under the Obama administration, this deal will not allow Iran to continue enriching uranium," one Republican congressman said Monday, shortly before Trump's own interview appeared to contradict him.
The nuclear question has been formally deferred to 60 days of future negotiations under the memorandum of understanding signed this weekend. Iran will also dilute rather than hand over its uranium stockpile as part of the deal, according to the Times, with Iranian officials saying they believe sending the uranium abroad would leave the country more vulnerable to future attacks.
Israel was not party to the negotiations and has not commented publicly on Trump's latest statements.