Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei played a key role in moving Iran toward a ceasefire agreement, according to a new report.
Axios detailed that Khamenei for the first time instructed negotiators to advance to the deal as U.S. forces prepared for a large bombing campaign that could target infrastructure used with civilian purposes, including power plants and bridges.
"We had no idea what was going to happen. It was wild," a defense official told the outlet. In the meantime, negotiators rushed to avoid a dramatic escalation, sending amendments back and forth.
The U.S. approved the updated proposal on Monday night. Khamenei took longer to make the decision, negotiating through runners passing notes due to being under an assassination threat by Israel. His blessing of the deal was considered a "breakthrough," a source told the outlet.
After chatter about a ceasefire became louder, Trump began getting calls and messages from some allies urging him to reject it. Israel was likely among them, but a senior official told the outlet that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got assurances that the country will insist that Iran give up its nuclear material, end enrichment and make sure its ballistic missile program is no longer a threat.
Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. will work to retrieve Iran's enriched uranium with the country, which has "gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change."
In a social media publication, Trump claimed there "will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear "Dust."
He went on to claim that the material is under satellite surveillance and "nothing has been touched from the date of the attack."
"We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been been agreed to," Trump added.
In another publication he announced that any country "supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately" with no "exclusions or exemptions."
