President Donald Trump hit the pause button on Operation Epic Fury Monday morning, announcing a five-day stay on planned strikes against Iranian power plants to allow for a sudden diplomatic opening.
Speaking to a crowd of reporters on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One for Memphis, the President detailed the specific demands Tehran must meet to avoid a full-scale military escalation.
The pivot to negotiations follows a tense weeks-long standoff that began on February 28, when Trump first announced the military operation on Truth Social following the collapse of nuclear talks. The stakes were raised further on March 2, when Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News that Iranian officials claimed to possess enough material for nearly a dozen “dirty” weapons.
“We’re looking for all of the things that we’ve been talking about,” Trump said Monday. “We want to see no nuclear bomb, no nuclear weapon, not even close to it, low-key on the missiles. We want to see peace in the Middle East. We want the nuclear dust, we’re going to want that, and I think we’re going to get that.”
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A central pillar of the potential deal involves the United States taking physical possession of Iran’s enriched materials. Trump noted that the U.S. has “agreed to that uranium” and emphasized that while he wants an end to enrichment, he expects Iran to hand over what they have already produced. “If we have a deal with them, we’re going down and we’ll take it ourselves,” Trump told the press gaggle.
The President framed the potential agreement as a regional reset that would benefit Israel as well as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. He suggested that compliance would allow Iran a chance to “build itself back.”
However, the threat of force remains on the table if the five-day window closes without a breakthrough. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has previously signaled that the administration is prepared for all scenarios, including the potential use of ground forces to secure nuclear sites.
During a March 13 briefing, Hegseth stated that denying Iran a weapon is a “core mission” and that the U.S. retains “options across the spectrum.”
When pressed on the extent of those options, Hegseth remained guarded, telling reporters, “I would never tell this group or the world what we’re willing to do or how far we’re willing to go, but we have options for sure.”
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