Trump says Iran agreed to not have nuclear weapons, but ‘they can change their mind’

The Iranian regime has agreed not to have nuclear weapons, President Donald Trump has said — but he added that Tehran could still “change their mind.”

“I did have to say we have to do something about Iran, because regardless of how well we’re doing [economically] we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” he said in the interview with the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast, which was published Wednesday. “They’ve already agreed they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon.”

When asked to confirm that the Iranian regime had agreed to that term, Trump said, “Oh yeah, they’ve agreed to that.”

“I mean, now they can change their mind, but that was one of the things they’ve had to agree, they’ve agreed to that. That was the big thing,” he said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on Trump’s interview when contacted by CNBC. A government official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told CNBC Trump’s words were “misleading.”

“Iran is a longstanding member of the NPT, and its nuclear programme has always been exclusively peaceful. Iran has never sought nuclear weapons, and therefore there is nothing new about Iran ‘agreeing not to have’ them,” the official said.

“Repeatedly framing the issue as ‘Iran has agreed not to have nuclear weapons’ falsely implies that Iran was previously pursuing such weapons. That implication is inaccurate and does not reflect the reality of Iran’s declared policy and international obligation.”

The war, which is approaching its 100th day, is currently at an impasse as Washington and Tehran have failed to progress their ceasefire into a more permanent peace deal.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that talks between the two sides were ongoing, despite Iranian state media reporting that the country’s leadership stopped exchanging communications with the U.S. several days earlier.

Mixed messaging on negotiations has been a continuing feature of the war, with the two parties repeatedly giving conflicting updates on where peace talks stand.

Rubio also told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that Iran “could negotiate aspects of their nuclear program.”

“There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, that for the first time, certainly in my memory, they have agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program that just a month ago, just a year ago, they were refusing to even mention, much less enter into discussions about,” he said.

Shortly after Trump’s interview went live on Wednesday, oil prices were continuing to climb while U.S. stock futures were mixed.

Oil prices are holding below the $100 mark, but have remained elevated through the duration of the conflict as the Strait of Hormuz — a critical oil shipping route — has effectively been closed.

On Monday, Iran’s state-affiliated news agency said Tehran will move to fully close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for alleged ceasefire violations.

When asked during the interview whether the blockade of the waterway would still be in place by Labor Day, Trump said, “I think it could be, but I think it’s unlikely.”

“I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,” he said.

— CNBC’s Luke Fountain and Emma Graham contributed to this report.