Trump says US to remove Iran’s high-level enriched uranium in ‘near future’

US President Donald Trump said the US will remove high-level enriched uranium from Iran in the “near future,” and that the two countries are close to reaching an agreement.

“We will enter at some point in the near future to remove Iran’s high-level enriched uranium from the ruins,” Trump told the Financial Times on Wednesday, noting that the US would do it in coordination with Tehran.

Asked if Iran agreed to let the US get the uranium, Trump said that “they did agree,” adding, “It’s one of the things we talk about. It’s very overrated. I’m the one that overrated it. To me it’s important. To other people, it’s not important.”

Regarding the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, Trump said he is still “trying to separate” the issue from his efforts to get an deal with Iran. Tehran demanded a cessation of Israeli attacks in Lebanon as a condition for a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “great partner,” adding that Israel “couldn’t have done (the Iran war) without us, couldn’t have even come close … They needed us, and they got us to help them.”