US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran will not be allowed to enrich uranium, asserting that the United States will work with Iran to dig up its stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium.

There was no indication that Iran has agreed to comply with either of these points, and they are likely to be subject to negotiations that are slated to begin on Friday.

“The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive regime change!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, even though the Islamic Republic has not fallen.

“There will be no enrichment of uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 bombers) nuclear ‘dust,’” he added, referring to the results of the June 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites.

“It is now, and has been, under very exacting satellite surveillance (space force!). Nothing has been touched from the date of attack.”

“We are, and will be, talking tariff and sanctions relief with Iran,” Trump revealed.

In a subsequent post, Trump added, “A country supplying military weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately. There will be no exclusions or exemptions!”

Back in the first post, Trump said, “Many of the 15 points have already been agreed to.”

He notably appeared to make Washington’s 15-point plan for ending the war the basis of negotiations with Iran, even though his post announcing the ceasefire said Iran’s 10-point response would be the basis for talks.

US claims Iran’s military ‘combat ineffective’

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the US war against Iran has “completely” destroyed the country’s ability to build missiles or other sophisticated weaponry.

“We finished completely destroying Iran’s defense-industrial base, a core pillar of our mission,” Hegseth told reporters. “They still shoot… here and there… but they can no longer build missiles.”

Iran’s missile fire on Israel has slowed to around 10-15 missiles a day in recent weeks, down from around 90 on the first day of the war.

Speaking at the Pentagon, Hegseth argued that Operation Epic Fury, the 38-day campaign against Iran, had “decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come.”

He said the United States, using “less than 10% of America’s total combat power,” dismantled one of the region’s largest militaries. According to Pentagon figures, US forces struck more than 13,000 targets, destroyed about 80% of Iran’s air defenses, sank most of Iran’s navy, heavily damaged its missile and drone programs, and shattered much of its defense industrial base.

At the same press conference, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said the campaign met the president’s three stated military objectives: destroying Iran’s ballistic missile and drone capabilities, destroying the Iranian navy, and crippling Iran’s defense industry so it cannot quickly rebuild. Pentagon officials also said Iran’s command-and-control network has been so badly damaged that remaining forces cannot effectively coordinate operations.

Iran was still firing both missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbors on Wednesday, undercutting Hegseth and Caine’s claims of a decisive US victory over Iran.

Israeli assessments also suggest that the Iranian threat is far from eliminated. On Saturday, Channel 12 reported, citing an Israeli Air Force intelligence officer, that the Israeli military believes Iran still has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles that can reach Israel, Channel 12 reported Saturday.

Overnight Wednesday-Thursday, Iran launched several waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, triggering sirens across the nation. On Wednesday afternoon, Tehran launched drone and missile attacks on Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation against reported strikes targeting an oil refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island.

“I want to thank our Gulf partners who fought alongside each and every one of us every day. From the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, all who joined us together to defend and protect our people and our assets and who, if required, stand ready to do so again,” he said.

Hegseth, on the other hand, did hail the role Israel played in the war.

On Iran’s nuclear program, Hegseth echoed Trump’s stance, saying the new Iranian leadership understands “they will never, ever possess” a nuclear weapon. He said any uranium or nuclear material Iran should not have will be removed, and declared, “There will be no Iranian nuclear weapons. Period. Full stop.”

He also suggested that the war had fundamentally changed Tehran’s leadership structure, referring to a “new regime” that has now seen “the full capability of the United States military.” He said that new leadership has “a new calculus about what it means to negotiate with us.”

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