President Trump’s State of the Union Address offered the clearest public description yet of what a US-Iran nuclear deal would require: a simple but profound commitment from Tehran that it will never build a nuclear weapon. Trump called these words “the secret” and said everything else — the details, the verification, the normalization — flows from that foundational declaration.
The President confirmed that two rounds of talks have already taken place this month and that Iran appears motivated to reach an agreement. But he said the talks have stalled on this fundamental point — Iran has not made the categorical commitment Washington requires, and without it, no deal can be finalized.
Trump pointed to last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer as context for why he views credible commitments as so important. He said the strikes destroyed Iran’s nuclear program, but Iran has since resumed its activities — proving, in his view, that words without verification and consequences are meaningless.
He also described the stakes in terms of Iran’s expanding military capabilities. With missiles already able to reach Europe and US bases abroad, and longer-range weapons in development, the window for a deal that prevents a nuclear-armed and intercontinental-missile-capable Iran is not unlimited.
Trump’s overall message was that a deal is possible and desirable — but it has a price. Iran must be willing to make a commitment it has so far been unwilling to make. If it does, Trump implied, the path to normalization is open. If it doesn’t, he said, the United States has made clear what happens next.