President Donald Trump told reporters at the G7 in France that Iran's economic future could "be good", but only if the regime continues cooperating with the United States and demonstrates it can be trusted. The remarks came during a bilateral meeting with Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Évian-les-Bains, where both leaders struck a cautiously forward-looking tone on Iran while insisting that a final deal, not investment talk, remains the priority.
The comments mark a notable shift in emphasis from an administration that has spent months ratcheting up military and economic pressure on Tehran. Trump paired his optimism about Iran's potential with a blunt warning: no nuclear weapon, no exceptions.
Asked by Breitbart News about economic opportunities for Iran if cooperation continues, Trump laid out the conditional offer in characteristically direct terms:
"I mean, I can tell you from our standpoint we have a lot of opportunities all over the world, but the Emir lives right next door, and I think you know they have a lot of oil. I think they'll be good. First, they're going to have to prove themselves, I think, before any of us go in there, but I hope they do well. I hope they do well."
That phrase, "they're going to have to prove themselves", is the operative qualifier. Trump did not announce new sanctions relief, promise investment access, or extend a formal diplomatic olive branch. He said the door could open. Whether Tehran walks through it depends on Tehran.
Trump made clear that whatever economic future Iran might enjoy, one condition is absolute. He drew the line at nuclear weapons and did not leave room for ambiguity.
"Look, one thing, whether they do well or poorly, they can't have a nuclear weapon; that's a big thing. If they had a nuclear weapon, they would have blown up Israel, they would have blown up the Middle East, and they probably would have taken a shot at us. We would have gotten them first, I think, but they would have done tremendous damage."
Trump then connected the present moment to his decision, during his first term, to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal. He said that had the JCPOA remained in place, Iran would have possessed a nuclear weapon five years ago.
The president did not hold back about the deal itself. He called it "the dumbest deal I've ever seen, other than NAFTA," and said the United States paid Iran "billions and billions of dollars" under its terms. His framing was consistent with his longstanding position: the JCPOA was a giveaway that accelerated, rather than prevented, Iran's path to a weapon.
That first-term withdrawal set the stage for far more aggressive action in his second term. Trump announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and declared Iran "in very bad shape" as the administration tightened the vise on the regime's economy and military infrastructure.
The most striking portion of Trump's remarks concerned the military strikes he ordered during his second term against Iran's enriched nuclear material. He described sending B-2 bombers to destroy what he called "the nuclear dust", Iran's stockpile of enriched material, and claimed the operation was devastating in scope.
"My second term, we sent in the B-2 bombers, and we terminated their, I call it the nuclear dust, their enriched material... and totally effectively."
Trump said the strikes caused an entire mountain to collapse on top of the site, making recovery of the material a massive logistical challenge. He claimed that an entity he referred to as "Atomic Energy" had reported the bombing was "one of the most devastating" ever recorded. He also took a shot at CNN, which he said had questioned the operation's effectiveness.
"So the Atomic Energy just reported that it was one of the most devastating bombings that they've ever, the whole mountain collapsed on top of it, and frankly... we're going to go get it, but to go get it is a big deal because they say only China and us have the equipment where you can even get, the whole mountain has collapsed on top."
Trump added that the buried material is "not very valuable stuff" but said the administration wants to recover it for psychological reasons. "I think psychologically, we want to get it," he said.
The military operation Trump referenced traces back to Operation Midnight Hammer last summer, a campaign that represented a dramatic escalation in the confrontation with Iran. The administration later suspended the bombing campaign and offered a two-week ceasefire tied to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, signaling a willingness to shift from military force to negotiation under the right conditions.
Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, seated alongside Trump during the bilateral meeting, offered a measured complement to the president's remarks. The Qatari leader made clear that recent weeks had been focused not on investment opportunities but on ending the conflict.
"Our interest, both of us, was to first of all to find a deal to stop this war. This is our main target, but looking at the economy and opportunity, I'm sure there are going to be huge opportunities."
Al Thani described the current moment as "very important momentum" and urged continued diplomatic work toward a final agreement. He said Iran would eventually be "open for any kind of investments" but emphasized that the priority remains reaching a deal.
That framing aligns with Qatar's longstanding role as an intermediary in the region. The Emir's language was careful, acknowledging the economic upside without getting ahead of the diplomatic process.
The path to this point has not been smooth. Trump rejected Iran's response to an earlier U.S. peace proposal as "totally unacceptable," and the administration's posture has swung between maximum pressure and conditional engagement in ways that have kept Tehran and regional observers guessing.
What stands out about Trump's G7 comments is the sequencing. The president spent the bulk of his answer recounting the destruction of Iran's enriched material and warning about the catastrophic consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran. Only then did he turn to the economic upside, and even that came wrapped in conditions.
This is a pattern the administration has repeated throughout its Iran engagement. Apply overwhelming force, establish leverage, then offer a path forward. It is the opposite of the JCPOA model, which Trump has consistently argued gave Iran money first and hoped for compliance later.
The administration at one point pulled envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner from a trip to Islamabad, citing Iran's internal disorder, another signal that Washington would not rush to the table when conditions weren't right.
Trump has also publicly stated that the Iran conflict is "very close to being over" and that Tehran is eager for negotiations, a characterization that, if accurate, would explain his willingness to dangle economic incentives at the G7. A regime that feels the weight of collapsed mountains, blockaded shipping lanes, and a cratered economy may be more inclined to meet the conditions Trump described.
Several questions hang over the president's remarks. Trump referenced a report from "Atomic Energy" confirming the devastation of the strikes, but did not specify which entity, the International Atomic Energy Agency or another body, issued it. He did not name the specific site destroyed. And he did not detail the terms of any emerging deal, nor what "proving themselves" would look like in practice for Iran.
The Emir's reference to "this war" was similarly unspecified. Whether he meant the broader U.S.-Iran confrontation, a regional proxy conflict, or a specific theater was not clarified in the exchange.
Trump has declared the Iran conflict nearly finished before. Whether this latest round of optimism translates into a durable agreement, or another cycle of escalation, depends on details neither leader offered at the G7.
None of that diminishes the core message. The United States destroyed Iran's enriched material, maintained maximum pressure, and now, from a position of undeniable strength, is signaling that cooperation could pay off for Tehran. The contrast with the JCPOA could not be sharper: billions up front bought nothing; B-2 bombers and a blockade bought a seat at the table.
If Iran wants the economic future Trump described, the regime knows the price. The question is whether it's willing to pay.
