Trump’s Team Wants Him to Accept an Iran Deal He’s Already Rejected

That of President Donald Trump Negotiators face the daunting task of trying to convince the president that a deal he previously rejected is their best option in Iran.

Last month, Trump initially gave his blessing to a so-called “cash for uranium” deal, under which the United States would release about $20 billion in frozen funds in exchange for Iran handing over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, sources familiar with the matter told WIRED.

Trump’s negotiators, Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, received repeated endorsements from the president while in Islamabad, giving them assurance that a deal was in place.

But the deal collapsed, in part because Trump was warned by his team that he risked being seen as giving Iran “pallets of cash” — an echo of his own oft-level criticism of Barack Obama’s Iran deal — and he terminated the deal, the sources said.

Except now it’s once again the cornerstone of the current proposal.

Ongoing negotiations for a memorandum of understanding that could guide negotiations on a nuclear deal focus on Iran handing over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and a moratorium on further uranium enrichment for about 12 to 15 years, Axios reported earlier.

In exchange, the United States would offer a combination of billions in sanctions relief and the gradual release of frozen funds after taking control of the enriched uranium, in order to destroy or reduce it so it cannot be used for a nuclear weapon.

Although a memorandum of understanding could bring Iran to the negotiating table, this framework is not materially different from what was previously discussed in Islamabad and rejected by Trump, who has repeatedly told his advisers in recent weeks that he is against sending money to Iran, sources told WIRED.

Some Trump advisers say the decision on whether Trump approves the framework will likely depend on his willingness to reach a deal. There are few options to encourage Iran, they add, and financial aid has been the most compelling.

“They’re going to have to do something like this, and it’s better than Obama’s deal, so he should accept it,” a Trump adviser said on condition of anonymity, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Trump has long criticized the deal for having provisions similar to those currently under discussion, such as a sunset clause on nuclear enrichment and the lifting of some sanctions by the United States.

For all the West Wing’s machinations, it has not gone unnoticed in Trump’s orbit that some of his top players have been conspicuous by their absence in Iran, according to two administration officials familiar with the matter.

Marco Rubio, secretary of state and national security adviser, is part of the group advising Trump on Iran and, physically speakingspends most of his time in his West Wing office overlooking West Executive Avenue rather than at the State Department.

Rubio was happy to brief reporters Tuesday, but did so only at the request of the White House, a person familiar with the matter said, with his advisers wary of his involvement in negotiations with Iran that could as easily fail as succeed.

In fact, given the downside risk, Rubioworld said it was surprised that Vance asked to participate in the Iran talks — a claim denied by people close to the vice president, who said Trump ordered him to do so.

Rubio has instead focused on Cuba and Venezuela, where Deputy Secretary of State Caleb Orr has been involved in overseeing new private equity investments to rebuild the country’s oil infrastructure.