Trump‘s Bold ’Big Deal': What Iran's 'Gift' Means for Nuclear Negotiations

[The Public — Reporter Yang Won-mo] President Donald Trump publicly laid out a comprehensive negotiation framework with Iran, tying nuclear issues to strategy involving the Strait of Hormuz in what he described as a \"big deal.\" He indicated the talks have made substantial progress, saying Iran sent the United States a \"very big gift.\"

At a White House event on March 24 (local time), Trump said an extremely valuable gift had arrived from Iran and that it concerned oil, gas and flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

His remarks followed his abrupt withdrawal of a 48-hour ultimatum he had maintained until the previous day and his decision to postpone attacks on Iran's energy facilities for five days. He said the parties had agreed on 15 issues, including abandoning nuclear weapons and halting uranium enrichment, and stressed that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons and will stop enrichment.

Sources say Trump assembled a full negotiating team that included Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff. Trump emphasized that the first, second and third priorities are all to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, adding that the United States has a clear advantage in these negotiations.

He repeatedly insisted the negotiation counterpart has changed. \"We removed their leadership,\" Trump said, \"and now we are negotiating with a new group, not the old power structure.\" Regarding the broader conflict, he asserted, \"The war will end soon. We have already won,\" and dismissed forecasts of a prolonged campaign as virtually fake news.

On regional coordination, he singled out Saudi Arabia. According to The New York Times, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly asked the U.S. to expand operations and consider ground forces. Trump characterized the crown prince as a warrior fighting alongside the United States and praised cooperation between the two countries. He added that he hopes for additional participation not only from Gulf allies but from NATO as well.