WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran has asked for heavy US sanctions against Tehran to be lifted and that he is open to having a discussion about it.
"Frankly, Iran has been asking if the sanctions could be lifted. Iran has got very heavy US sanctions, and it makes it really hard," Trump said during a dinner with Central Asian leaders.
"I'm open to hearing that, and we'll see what happens, but I would be open to it."
Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Tehran has been reeling under years of international sanctions, especially after the United States in 2018 withdrew from an international nuclear accord with Tehran and reimposed tough punitive measures.
In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a war that saw the United States join briefly with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
The 12-day war with Israel, which prompted an Iranian response with missile and drone strikes, derailed nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington ,which had begun in April.
Trump said that Iran had once been the "bully of the Middle East" but no longer had the "possibility of nuclear weapons."
The Republican president, who returned to office in January, has repeatedly said the strikes obliterated Iran's nuclear program, but the full extent of the damage remains unknown.
In September, the United Nations reinstated sanctions against Tehran under the so-called "snapback" mechanism after Britain, France, and Germany triggered the process.
Those measures bar dealings linked to the Islamic Republic's nuclear and ballistic missile activities.
Oman, which has hosted several rounds of US-Iran nuclear talks, has called on both sides to return to negotiations.
The talks had aimed for a new agreement that would curb Iran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.
International stabilization force to be in Gaza ‘very soon’
Separately, while speaking, President Trump said he expects a US-coordinated international stabilization force to be on the ground in Gaza "very soon," following two years of war in the territory between Israel and Hamas.
The multinational force — likely to include troops from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates — is part of Trump's post-war governance plan for Gaza.
The plan helped lead to a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group on October 10, but the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has not abated.
"It's going to be very soon. And Gaza is working out very well," Trump said at the function with Central Asian leaders.
"You haven't been hearing too much about problems, and I'll tell you, we've had countries that have volunteered if there's a problem with Hamas."
The force is supposed to train and support vetted Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip, with backing from Egypt and Jordan.
It will also be tasked with securing border areas and preventing weapons smuggling to Hamas, which triggered the conflict with its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
On Wednesday, the United States circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution to partner nations aimed at shoring up Trump's plan, including by greenlighting the international force.
Washington's UN envoy Mike Waltz shared the draft with the 10 elected Security Council members and several regional partners — Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — a spokesperson for the US mission said in a statement.
A vote has not yet been scheduled.
According to diplomatic sources, several countries have indicated their willingness to participate in the force, but insist on a Security Council mandate before actually deploying troops into the Palestinian territory.
The head of the US Central Command, the military command responsible for the Middle East, said last month during a visit to Gaza that no US troops would be deployed there.
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