Trump Official Says There May Not Be a Nuclear Agreement with Iran

The chances of a nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran appear to be shrinking. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said there “may not” be a deal, raising the prospect that Washington could turn from diplomacy to strikes against Iranian efforts to build nuclear infrastructure.

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There may not be a nuclear deal.

In an interview with ABC News, Wright said the alternative could be “simply destroying their capabilities to do it.” Pressed on whether the United States would continue bombing instead of pursuing diplomacy, he defended the US campaign in Iran. “They don’t have the capability to build more missiles,” Wright said. “We’re degrading their capacity to develop nuclear weapons and, ultimately, to deliver them if they develop them.”

Iran has consistently said its nuclear program is intended only for peaceful power generation and that it has no plans to build a nuclear weapon. The United States has previously targeted facilities it said supported Iran’s nuclear program.

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It may be simply destroying their capabilities to do it.

Wright, whose agency oversees the US nuclear weapons stockpile, said an agreement could still be possible under different Iranian leadership. “An agreement may await the next administration in Iran,” he said. “We simply don’t know that.”

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An agreement may await the next administration in Iran.

The remarks followed the collapse of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in July. Attacks later resumed, alongside Iranian closures of the Strait of Hormuz and a US naval blockade. Although exchanges of fire have continued, the White House has sought to minimize the conflict publicly. President Donald Trump called the war “small potatoes,” while Vice President JD Vance said he would not call it a war and that there was “no active shooting right now.” Wright offered no details but said the United States would “get the job done” and that other countries would help end the war.

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We will get the job done.