Pratik AgrawalAt a high-stakes White House Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump ruled out Russia and China from handling Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, issued a blunt warning to Oman, and made it clear a nuclear deal with Tehran must be done right, or the war grinds back into full gear.
The tension at the White House was palpable on Wednesday. President Donald Trump sat before his full Cabinet and laid down some of the clearest terms yet for an Iran deal and the message was anything but subtle.
Trump said he was not yet happy with what Tehran had offered. If Iran fails to come to the table with something real, the U.S. military will step back in. “Iran is very much intent, they want very much to make a deal. So far they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be,” Trump said, projecting a mix of impatience and cautious confidence.
The Cabinet meeting unfolded at a pivotal moment three months into an active U.S. war with Iran, ceasefire talks in flux, and growing pressure from both allies and critics about whether the emerging deal is actually a win for America.
Trump Rules Out Russia and China on Iran’s Uranium
One of the sharpest moments in Wednesday’s session came when Trump firmly shut the door on two of the world’s most powerful nations. He said he would not be comfortable with either Russia or China taking possession of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium a key sticking point in the negotiations.
Iran currently holds around 440.9 kilograms nearly 972 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity. That is just a short technical step away from the weapons-grade threshold of 90%, according to international nuclear watchdog data. Russia, which signed a strategic partnership with Iran earlier in 2025, had previously floated the idea of accepting that material as part of a peace framework. China had also been mentioned as a willing recipient.
Trump shot both ideas down. He had posted on Truth Social earlier in the week that the uranium must either come to the United States, stay in Iran for destruction on-site, “or at another acceptable location” but it was clear from Wednesday’s remarks that Moscow and Beijing are not on that list.
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A Blunt Warning to Oman and Iran
The meeting produced one of the most eyebrow-raising statements of Trump’s presidency and that is saying something. When asked about reports that Oman could co-manage a toll system for the Strait of Hormuz along with Iran, Trump dismissed the idea entirely.
“Oman will behave just like everybody else or we will have to blow them up,” Trump said a comment his team appeared to suggest was aimed at Iran rather than the Gulf mediator nation. Still, the remark landed like a thunderclap in diplomatic circles.
Oman has served as a critical back-channel intermediary throughout the five rounds of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks that have taken place since April 2025. Threatening even rhetorically a neutral mediator was the kind of remark that foreign policy veterans rarely see from a sitting U.S. president.
Trump also made clear that the Strait of Hormuz would not fall under any single nation’s control. “Nobody” not Iran, not Oman, not any outside power would run the waterway. The strait is the vital artery through which a massive chunk of the world’s oil flows, and its blockade has sent energy prices surging globally.
Also Read | Trump’s Explosive Warning “We’ll Have to Blow Them Up” Shocks US Ally Oman Over Strait of Hormuz Standoff
The Uranium Question Isn’t Fully Resolved Yet
Trump seemed to confirm something that has made some of his own Republican allies uneasy the final status of Iran’s enriched uranium may not be settled in the immediate deal. A short-term memorandum of understanding focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz could come first, with the harder uranium question kicked to a 60-day follow-up window.
“Well, I would for some of it,” Trump said when pressed on whether he would accept a partial framework for now. “Because it’s a memorandum of understanding for speed.”
The math here is delicate. Senators like Roger Wicker, Lindsey Graham, and Ted Cruz have already voiced frustration arguing the terms under discussion look too close to the 2015 Obama-era nuclear agreement that Trump himself tore up during his first term. They worry Tehran’s hard-liners emerge from this conflict bruised but not beaten.
Iran Pushes Back and Denies the Draft Agreement
Iranian state television jumped the gun Wednesda claiming a draft agreement had already been outlined, one that included lifting the naval blockade, restoring Strait of Hormuz traffic, and pulling U.S. forces out of the Gulf region entirely.
The White House called it a “complete fabrication.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio seated alongside Trump during the meeting acknowledged there had been “some progress and some interest” from the Iranian side. But he kept expectations measured. “We’ll see over the next few hours and days whether progress can be made,” Rubio said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued its own aggressive counter-signal warning that if U.S. strikes resume, Iran’s coastline would become a “graveyard for the aggressors.”
Abraham Accords Become Part of the Iran Equation
Trump also threw another condition into the deal-making mix one that surprised many regional observers. He suggested the Iran agreement could be tied to his ongoing push for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, and other nations to sign the Abraham Accords the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Arab countries and Israel from his first term.
“I’m not sure we should make the deal if they don’t sign,” Trump said.
The remark met with what one former U.S. ambassador described as “stunned silence” among Gulf leaders on a recent call. Saudi Arabia the most pivotal player in any normalization effort has long held that a credible path to Palestinian statehood must come first. Israel firmly opposes that condition. Linking it to the Iran war ceasefire adds yet another layer of complexity to an already tangled set of negotiations.
What’s Next
Despite the fireworks, Trump insisted he was in no rush. He described Iran as “negotiating on fumes” a country battered by months of U.S.-led strikes, under crushing sanctions, and desperate for relief. Secretary Rubio echoed the sentiment, saying the U.S. would either reach a genuinely good deal or walk away entirely. “He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal,” Rubio told reporters.
The next few days will be telling. U.S. and Iranian officials continue to meet through Omani intermediaries in Muscat. The midterm elections and the political cost of a drawn-out, unresolved conflict loom in the background. And with oil prices still elevated, the world is watching very closely to see whether the Strait of Hormuz reopens or whether the guns start firing again.
Akshay Didwaniya
Mayur Mohta
Aditya Didwaniya
