US President Donald Trump said his approach to Iran is central to securing broader Middle East stability, repeating that US military action had removed Tehran’s nuclear capability and hinting that an agreement with the Islamic Republic could pave the way for regional diplomacy.
“They have no nuclear capability, no,” Trump said in a CBS 60 Minutes interview aired on Sunday, adding that he had “blasted the hell out of” Iran and praising US pilots for operations he said were conducted in Iranian airspace.
Trump said progress on Arab-Israeli normalization would have been impossible “if you had a nuclear Iran,” arguing that curbing Tehran’s capabilities was a prerequisite for any agreement.
He added, “You could’ve never had any kind of a deal if you had a nuclear Iran… And I blasted the hell out of ’em,” while also saying the United States halted operations, characterizing his decisions as calibrated to deter Tehran while preserving space for diplomacy. “We stopped,” he said. “When it was time to stop, we stopped.”
The president described Iran as wanting an agreement even if they don’t say it, and cast a potential understanding with Tehran as “the key to peace in the Middle East.” He did not outline new diplomatic proposals or timelines.
Iranian officials have long rejected US accusations about nuclear ambitions, saying enrichment and related activities support power generation and medical research. The International Atomic Energy Agency has previously urged Tehran to address questions about its program.
Trump’s remarks come as Washington and regional partners weigh next steps on containment and possible talks with Tehran amid intermittent back-channel messaging.
According to Fars news agency, the victim, identified as Mohammad (Javad) Siahani, was killed late Saturday when assailants opened fire on his vehicle along the Bampour–Delgan road. The attackers were reportedly traveling in an unmarked Peugeot sedan.
Authorities said police and security forces have launched an investigation into the incident, which marks the latest in a series of armed attacks targeting security personnel in Sistan-Baluchestan province, a region long plagued by militant and criminal violence.
Authorities said police and security forces have launched an investigation into the incident, which marks the latest in a series of armed attacks targeting security personnel in Sistan-Baluchestan province, a region long plagued by militant and criminal violence.
On Saturday, two members of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij paramilitary forces were killed in an armed attack on the Khash–Zahedan road.
In September, Reza Azarkish, a local Basij militia member, was shot dead in Iranshahr. Earlier in the month, Iraj Shams Askani, a member of the Revolutionary Guards, was gunned down by Jaish ul-Adl in the border town of Rask.
Last month, Parviz Kadkhodaei, a local Basij commander in Nikshahr, was killed in a separate assault. Prominent tribal leader Mullah Kamal Salahi-zehi was also killed in October when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his vehicle in Iranshahr.
The province, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long been the scene of attacks by Sunni insurgent groups that Tehran says are backed by foreign intelligence services.
Tehran had received messages concerning the talks, Fatemeh Mohajerani, spokeswoman for President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration, said on Sunday, but declined to identify the sender or disclosing any further details.
“Details about the nature and content of the messages will be provided at the appropriate time,” she told reporters.
Her remarks came after the Iraqi news outlet Baghdad Al-Youm, citing diplomatic sources in Tehran, reported on Friday that a message transmitted to Muscat expressed Washington’s willingness to resume nuclear negotiations with the Islamic Republic.
The US president Donald Trump had expressed his determination to reach a new agreement with Iran, the report said.
However, Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, quoted an informed source on Saturday denying the report and saying that “no message has been sent by the United States through Oman.”
Oman and Qatar urge return to diplomacy
Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, speaking on Saturday at Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain, said his country hoped to return to negotiations between Iran and the United States. Oman has hosted five rounds of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington this year.
The planned sixth round in June, Al-Busaidi said, was halted after Israel’s attacks on Iran.
“Three days before the sixth round of talks was set to take place in June, Israel unleashed its bombs and missiles in an illegal and deadly act of sabotage,” he said.
The negotiations aimed at a new accord that would limit Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
Western governments, including the United States, have accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists its program is solely for peaceful purposes.
Qatari prime minister and foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on October 29 that Doha was working to bring both sides back to a new agreement.
“We are trying to engage with the United States and with the Iranians to make sure that the talks come back on track between the two countries, because I believe once we have the talks started, we can achieve an agreement,” Al Thani said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York.
“We can achieve a deal that will be better for everyone. For us in the region, for Iran, and for the United States,” Al Thani said. “Iran is my neighbor... for me, the stability of Iran is key. It’s not a luxury... it’s very important.”
Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which had imposed strict limits on uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief. In September, the United Nations reimposed its arms embargo and other sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
Speaking during a visit to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Pezeshkian said Tehran’s nuclear drive is intended to “meet the essential needs of the people and enhance national welfare.”
He said that while the destructive potential of nuclear technology is well known, “only a fraction of its applications relate to weapons,” and the rest serves medicine, agriculture, and industry.
The president’s remarks come amid heightened tensions with the West over Iran’s nuclear activity following the reimposition of UN sanctions and renewed scrutiny by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Pezeshkian said Iran’s nuclear scientists are working on the production of radiopharmaceuticals and medical isotopes, calling their efforts “a form of scientific jihad and sincere service to the nation.”
He rejected Western accusations that Iran seeks to develop nuclear arms, saying that “building a nuclear weapon is not on our agenda and they know this well.”
Instead, he accused global powers of using false claims to block Iran’s technological independence and maintain control over high-tech industries and markets.
Pezeshkian also criticized what he called the waste of national resources through excessive fossil fuel consumption and urged scientists to focus on clean technologies and renewable energy.
“We burn millions of barrels of oil and gas daily and ignore the potential of science to create added value,” he said, adding that this neglect fuels environmental damage and economic dependency.
The president vowed full government support for advancing the country’s peaceful nuclear program, saying that Iran must strengthen its position in the global market for radiopharmaceuticals and other nuclear-related technologies.
“With careful planning and the efforts of our scientists, we can expand our share of the international market,” he said.
Iran plans eight new reactors
Iran plans to build eight new nuclear power plants in cooperation with Russia as part of a long-term strategy to expand its nuclear energy capacity, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said on Sunday.
Eslami said the new facilities would be located along the country’s northern and southern coasts.
He told reporters that the projects are part of a roadmap to generate 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2041.
Eslami said four of the planned reactors would be built in Bushehr -- home to Iran’s existing nuclear plant -- and four elsewhere, with site details to be announced later.
He added that Iran is also pursuing domestic projects, including a power plant in Darkhoveyn and a desalination project in Bushehr, aimed at addressing electricity and water shortages.
