US President Donald Trump said Iran has "no choice" but to accept a nuclear agreement with Washington, warning that the US would obtain Tehran's enriched uranium either through a negotiated deal or by military force.
Trump said Washington would work with Iran to eliminate its stockpile of enriched uranium if a peace agreement could be reached, in comments made in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, but suggested the US military could secure the material independently if negotiations failed.
"We will do it with them or without them," Trump said, referring to the destruction of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile.
Trump said that under a future agreement, the uranium could be destroyed in Iran or transferred abroad and dismantled using American equipment.
He added that if military action became necessary, the US would first degrade Iran's military capabilities to ensure American forces could operate without coming under fire.
The US president also claimed that Washington possesses the capability to monitor Iranian nuclear facilities through space-based surveillance systems.
"We have cameras covering every inch. If someone is there, or if you walked there, I could read your first name written on your badge," Trump said.
He added that US forces would remain deployed in the region until what he described as the mission was completed.
Trump said he was seeking additional safeguards in any future agreement beyond Iranian commitments not to develop nuclear weapons.
"I said, what if they don't develop one [a nuclear bomb] but buy one or obtain one? I want to add language preventing them from buying or obtaining one, so they have no right to develop, buy or acquire one," he said.
According to Trump, Iranian officials initially objected to the proposal before backing away from their opposition.
The president also said he would be open to direct talks with Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whom he described as "part of the process of approving an agreement".
"I would do it if he wanted to, but I have not spoken with him directly," Trump said.
He described Khamenei as "younger, more rational and courageous" than his father, who was killed during the US-Israeli war against Iran after a meeting of Iranian officials was targeted in late February.
Trump declined to say whether he knew Khamenei's current whereabouts, saying only: "I don't want to say, but there's a possibility that I know."
The comments come as negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain unresolved following months of tension over Iran's nuclear programme and the aftermath of the recent conflict between the two countries.
Trump acknowledged that securing an agreement remained difficult because it required Iran to make concessions it had previously rejected.
"Iran has not signed an agreement yet because it is extremely difficult for them. They have no choice except to accept things they never imagined they would one day have to accept," he said.
"They will find themselves compelled to accept them because they have no choice. We're talking about 47 years in which they became accustomed to doing whatever they wanted without accountability."