U.S. President Donald Trump said, “Iran has agreed that it will not possess nuclear weapons,” and predicted that a deal could be reached within a week. The White House is reportedly hoping the talks will be wrapped up before President Trump’s trip to China on the 14~15. However, with deep mistrust between the two sides and expected backlash from Iranian hardliners, some say it is too early to be optimistic about a deal.

At a White House event on the 6th (local time), President Trump told reporters, “Iran must not have nuclear weapons, and it will not,” adding, “They have agreed to this, along with several other matters.” He added, “There is no set deadline for the talks.”

In a PBS interview, when asked about the possibility of sealing a deal before he departs for China next week for a U.S.-China summit, he said it was “possible,” adding, “It doesn’t have to be finalized before then, but that would be ideal.”

Earlier, the U.S. online outlet Axios reported that the two sides were close to signing a one-page memorandum of understanding (MOU) consisting of 14 points laying out basic principles for ending the war and for nuclear talks, and that the United States was awaiting Iran’s response.

Asked whether the deal could include Iran handing over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States, Trump declared, “Not that it could be; it will be sent to the United States.” When asked whether a halt to operations at Iran’s underground nuclear facilities was also part of the deal, he confirmed, “Yes.”

On a proposal that would allow low-level enrichment at 3.67% after Iran observes a moratorium on uranium enrichment for a set period, he drew a line, saying, “No. That is not negotiable.” He added, “They will implement (the suspension of enrichment) for a long time as a confidence-building measure.” Earlier, Iran had presented as a final concession a plan to suspend enrichment for 10 years and then, for the following 10 years, produce limited quantities of low-enriched uranium.

Trump said, “If an agreement is reached, we will ease sanctions and other measures against Iran.” He cautioned, however, “I have previously felt we were close to a deal, so we will have to see what happens this time,” adding, “If they do not agree to the deal, we will go back to heavy bombing.”

U.S. Central Command said it had disabled the Iranian oil tanker Hasna, which had attempted to break through the U.S. maritime blockade, with a 20㎜ autocannon. It is a familiar Trump strategy during negotiations: ratcheting up tensions to pressure a deal. The Hasna is believed to have carried Iranian crude to a third country to offload it, then attempted to return with its tanks empty.

Israel also carried out an airstrike in the suburbs of Beirut for the first time since last month’s ceasefire with Lebanon took effect. It appears to have been an attempt to assassinate a commander of Hezbollah’s elite forces. Because Iran has demanded that Israel halt its attacks on Lebanon as a key precondition for resuming talks, the strike could provoke Iranian hardliners.

Inside Iran, reactions to President Trump’s remarks about progress in the talks were mixed. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNBC that Iran was “reviewing” the U.S.-proposed MOU, but on the same day, a spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee warned, “(The 14 points) are close to the United States’ wish list,” adding, “If the United States does not make ‘necessary concessions,’ Iran is prepared to respond.”