President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House on May 27, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said on the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast that the Iranian regime has agreed not to have nuclear weapons, but added that Iran could still “change its mind.”
“We had to say we have to do something about Iran, because no matter how well our country is doing (economically), we cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weapons,” he said in an interview published Wednesday. “They have already agreed not to have nuclear weapons.”
Asked to confirm whether the Iranian regime had agreed to that provision, President Trump responded, “Oh, yeah, they agreed to it.”
“I mean, now they can change their minds, but that was one of the things they had to agree to, and they agreed to it. That was the big thing,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on Trump’s interview when contacted by CNBC.
The war is nearing its 100th day and is currently at an impasse, with the US and Iranian governments unable to develop the ceasefire into a more permanent peace deal.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that talks between the two countries continue despite Iranian state media reporting that the country’s leadership had stopped exchanging communications with the United States several days ago.
Mixed messages about negotiations are a feature of the war, with both sides repeatedly giving contradictory updates on their peace negotiation positions.
Rubio also told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that Iran “can negotiate aspects of its nuclear program.”
“We have a prospect in front of us that could happen today, could happen tomorrow, could happen next week, and certainly for the first time in my memory, we agreed to negotiate aspects of the nuclear program that just a month ago, exactly a year ago, they refused to even mention, let alone enter into discussion,” he said.
Immediately after President Trump’s interview was released on Wednesday, oil prices continued to rise while US stock futures were mixed.
Oil prices, which have remained below $100, have remained elevated during the conflict as the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route, was effectively shut down.
On Monday, Iran’s state news agency reported that the Iranian government would move to completely close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the alleged ceasefire violation.
Asked in an interview whether the waterway closures would remain in place by Labor Day, Trump said: “I think it’s possible, but I don’t think it’s likely.”
“I think this problem will be resolved fairly quickly,” he said.
—CNBC’s Luke Fountain contributed to this report.
