To bring Iran back to the negotiating table after U.S. airstrikes that the White House says crippled that nation's nuclear program, the Trump administration has discussed allowing the Tehran regime access to as much as $30 billion to build a civilian nuclear program, CNN reported Thursday, citing four unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Trump reportedly said Wednesday, the day after a ceasefire took effect between Israel and Iran that ended a 12-day conflict, that the U.S. and Iran would talk "next week," but he provided few details on what would be discussed, other than noting, "We may sign an agreement. I don't know, to me, I don't think it's that necessary."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in Thursday's press briefing that "we don't have anything scheduled as of now."
"I spoke to our special envoy [Steve] Witkoff at length this morning and I can assure all of you, we continue to be in close communication with the Iranians and through our intermediaries as well, namely, the Qataris, who have been an incredible ally and partner throughout this entire effort," Leavitt said in a briefing that aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform.
Officials from the U.S. and Middle East have talked with Iran behind the scenes, even amid the military strikes in Iran and Israel over the past two weeks, CNN reported. Those discussions have continued this week after Trump brokered the ceasefire.
Trump administration officials said several proposals have been floated and that they are preliminary and evolving, with one consistent nonnegotiable: no Iranian enrichment of uranium. But at least one preliminary draft proposal, described to CNN by two sources, includes several incentives for Iran.
Some details were hashed out in a secret hourslong meeting between Steve Witkoff and Persian Gulf partners at the White House on June 20, the day before U.S. B-2 Spirit bombers destroyed Iranian nuclear sites at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN.
Among the terms being discussed is an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion investment in a new Iranian nonenrichment nuclear program that would be used for civilian energy purposes, CNN reported.
One official insisted Arab partners would foot the bill. Investment in Iran's nuclear energy infrastructure has been discussed in previous rounds of talks in recent months.
"The U.S. is willing to lead these talks" with Iran, a Trump administration official told CNN. "And someone is going to need to pay for the nuclear program to be built, but we will not make that commitment."
Another idea being considered is for U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf to pay to replace the Fordo site — which the U.S. hit with bunker-buster bombs on Saturday night — with the nonenrichment program, CNN reported.
It was not immediately known if Iran would be able to use the site itself, nor was it clear how seriously that proposal was being considered.
"There are a lot of ideas being thrown around by different people and a lot of them are trying to be creative," one of the sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
Newsmax reached out to the White House for comment, but Leavitt said in the briefing that "this administration is always focused on diplomacy and peace, and we want to ensure we can get to a place where Iran agrees to a nonenrichment civil nuclear program."
"And there are many other requests that the United States has," she said. "Those details continue to ... really, they're just starting. Of course, the operation was just on Saturday night, but we are in touch and if there is a meeting we will let you know as we always do."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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