Trump says he is 'open' to discuss lifting sanctions on Iran

President Donald Trump said 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.

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In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a war which 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.

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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.