Trump says U.S. will work with new leaders in Iran for lasting peace deal, will nab ‘nuclear dust’

President Trump said Wednesday his team is working closely with Iran to turn a two-week ceasefire into a lasting peace that prevents Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Mr. Trump said one of the primary tasks will be digging up residual radioactive material, or “nuclear dust,” that is buried from previous U.S. attacks on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

“The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!” Mr. Trump wrote on social media.

Mr. Trump also said tariff and sanctions relief for Iran is on the table as part of talks.

The president agreed late Tuesday to hold off on his apocalyptic promise to order the death of “a whole civilization” on Tuesday after Iran agreed to open up the Strait of Hormuz as part of a Pakistan-brokered temporary ceasefire of the ongoing conflict between Washington and Tehran.

Mr. Trump said a two-week suspension of what he said would be a sweeping bombing campaign targeting Iran’s bridges, power plants and utilities was based on conversations he had with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, the country’s military chief.

SEE ALSO: Trump agrees to two-week suspension of threatened attacks on Iran

On Truth Social, Mr. Trump said the U.S. would be monitoring traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil traffic.

“There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process,” Mr. Trump said. “We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will.”

Advertisement Advertisement

The U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Feb. 28 to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities and constrain its ability to fund terrorism in the region. Early strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and other top officials.

Iran responded by striking Gulf nations’ energy facilities and choking off the Strait of Hormuz, causing a shock through oil markets.

Mr. Trump on Wednesday warned other countries not to support Iran’s military during the pause in fighting. He said any country that does would face a 50% tariff on goods that it sends to the U.S.

Vice President J.D. Vance said Wednesday the two-week ceasefire is a “fragile truce,” and its durability will depend on which camp within the Iranian regime prevails.

SEE ALSO: Wall Street rebounds strongly, oil prices dip after U.S. and Iran agree to two-week ceasefire deal

Mr. Vance, traveling in Hungary, said there are Tehran officials who want to negotiate an end to the conflict and “find a good deal,” and “then you have people who are lying about even the fragile truce that we’ve already struck.”

Advertisement Advertisement

Fragile or not, the two-week ceasefire had an immediate impact on markets.

Dow Futures jumped over 1,000 points, and the price of Brent crude oil, an international benchmark, dropped below $100 per barrel to around $93.

Lower oil prices will reduce gasoline prices for everyday Americans, though it may take a while, and it is unclear whether the trend will hold.

“If the Iranians are willing in good faith to work with us, I think we can make an agreement,” Mr. Vance said. “If they’re going to lie, if they’re going to cheat, if they’re trying then to prevent even the fragile truce that we’ve set up from taking place, then they’re not going to be happy, because what the president has also shown is that we still have clear military, diplomatic and, maybe most importantly, we have extraordinary economic leverage.”

Advertisement Advertisement

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.