President Donald Trump is open to making major concessions to Iran in exchange for commitments regarding its nuclear program, U.S. officials told Axios, a position he’s gone back and forth on over the past several months.
According to the unnamed U.S. officials, Trump is willing to unfreeze Iranian funds and offer sanctions relief in exchange for major nuclear concessions. The admission comes as a fresh round of talks is expected to take place this week in New York between U.S. and Iranian negotiators, done by proxy through Qatari and Pakistani mediators.
During his first term, Trump famously tore up the Iran nuclear deal brokered by former President Barack Obama — a deal built on sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds. But in June, Trump warmed to those same concessions, agreeing to lift all U.S. sanctions on Iran and release all of its frozen or restricted funds.
Trump quickly walked those concessions back, however, after hostilities between the United States and Iran resumed in July. In August, Trump explicitly told reporters that his administration was not seeking to extend the June interim peace agreement, which included sanctions relief and the unfreezing of funds.
In what appears to be yet another pivot, Trump has once again warmed to the idea of granting Iran its requested concessions, with the U.S. officials voicing optimism for this week’s talks.
“[The indirect talks have been] positive and constructive, [and Iran] has indicated they are flexible on the nuclear issues,” one of the U.S. officials told Axios, speaking on the condition of anonymity.