On September 15, President Donald Trump said that he could make a “good deal” with Iran if reelected in November. “I would say, right after the election — within a period of a week, maybe a month … you’ll have Iran coming back and saying, ‘Let’s get this whole thing worked out,’” he told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Emirati Foreign Minister Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“I really believe Iran wants to make a deal,” Trump added during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They’ve had a very tough time. Their GDP is down 27 percent because of the sanctions and all of the other things. And I don’t want that to happen.” He added that he wanted to see Iran become a “great country.”
In May 2018, the president withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major world powers. The Trump Administration then launched a “maximum pressure” campaign to pressure Tehran to negotiate a more expansive agreement.
Trumps' remarks on a new deal came amid the signing of U.S.-brokered agreements — known as the Abraham Accords — between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at the White House. The following are excerpted remarks by the president.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office with Emirati Foreign Minister Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on September 15: “We’ll see what happens with Iran. I would say, right after the election — within a period of a week, maybe a month — but within a period of — a very short period. Within maybe — I mean, literally, a very short time, you’ll have Iran coming back and saying, “Let’s get this whole thing worked out.”
“Iran is suffering. Iran, unfortunately -- I don’t want them to suffer. But their economy has tanked. They have a minus-27 GDP. Nobody has ever heard of a number like that. I think it’s perhaps a record-setter, but they're down 27 percent.
“And I think they want to make a deal, but they'd much rather deal with Sleepy Joe Biden than me, because, you know, we’re going to make a deal, and I’ll make a very fair deal. And I even suggested, “Wait until after the election. Make yourself feel good. Wait until after the election.”
“So we’ll see what happens with Iran. I think Iran will end up being a part of a very large and very, very difficult part of the world. Look, the Middle East has been a very complex, very difficult part of the world. We’re making it easier, and we’re making it a lot simpler. But I think right after our election -- the American election -- if we win, we’ll have a deal with Iran. I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran.”
President Trump in the Oval Office with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on September 15: “I really believe Iran wants to make a deal. They’ve had a very tough time. Their GDP is down 27 percent because of the sanctions and all of the other things. And I don’t want that to happen. I don’t want — I want Iran to be a great country, a great nation. I think that would be a wonderful thing.
“But I think — and I’ve even said that. I’ve said that the representatives of them: “You should wait to see the election, first.” There is nothing they or China or, probably, Russia would like better than to have Sleepy Joe Biden become the President, because if Sleepy Joe won, they would own the United States, all of them. China would own the United States.
“So I told all of them, I said, “Wait until after the election.” But after the election, we have to make a better deal. I do say that. We’re going to make a better deal than we would have.
“But, with Iran, they certainly should wait until after the election because, frankly, if Biden wins, they’ll make a much better deal. But I’m going to make a good deal with Iran. I’m going to make a deal that’s great for Iran. It’s going to get them back. We’re going to help them in every way possible. And Iran will be very happy. Iran will be very rich and very quickly. But I think they should wait until after the election. You understand what I mean by that. Because a dream for those countries would be Sleepy Joe.”