Trump Says He Would Call Iran ‘Sir’ if Tehran Had Nuclear Weapons

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would be addressing Iran as “sir” if the country had a nuclear weapon, but that he is not going to address Iranian leaders that way now.

“If Iran had a nuclear weapon, I would be addressing them as ‘sir.’ I am not going to address them as ‘sir,’” Trump said in a clip circulated on October 30. Accounts that shared the clip said it came from a Kansas City radio interview. Reuters reported that Trump spoke to Kansas City station KCMO the same day, saying the Iran war is “going to get wrapped up soon” and that the United States needs a guarantee there will never be a nuclear weapon.

The remark is new, but it echoes a longer hypothetical Trump gave at a Republican campaign convention in September. It does not announce a change in U.S. policy.

Trump Says Nuclear Weapons Would Change His Approach

Trump presented Iran’s nuclear status as a decisive factor in how Washington deals with Tehran. The statement was framed as a hypothetical, and he was not suggesting that Iran currently possesses a nuclear weapon.

In the clip, Trump did not name Iran’s supreme leader. The title is held by Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father, Ali Khamenei, after the elder Khamenei was killed in the opening U.S.-Israeli attacks on February 28, according to Al Jazeera.

U.S. intelligence agencies assessed in their March 2025 annual threat assessment that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, although they said pressure on Ali Khamenei to reauthorize a weapons program had probably grown.

September Version Came at Republican Midterm Convention

Trump made a longer version of the argument on September 9 at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas.

“If they had a nuclear weapon, I’d be calling the Supreme Leader, and I’d be saying, ‘Mr. Supreme Leader, how are you, sir? Is there anything we can do for you?’ as opposed to bombing the crap out of him,” he said, according to Slate. He added: “It’s very simple. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon.”

Slate published a commentary arguing the speech sent a dangerous message to Iran and the rest of the world.

Trump Defends Military Pressure on Tehran

Trump has repeatedly argued that American and Israeli military action has prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. In June 2025, the U.S. struck the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites in Operation Midnight Hammer, using seven B-2 bombers that dropped 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, along with Tomahawk missiles fired from a submarine.

The current war began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. At a rally in Texas on October 27, Trump said that if asked when the war will end, his answer is “whenever I want it to end,” and that it must end with a statement that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.

Reuters reports that Trump has said the United States will not strike Iran before the November 3 midterm elections. U.S. officials have told regional allies to prepare for possible renewed action afterward, and Trump has not made a final decision on new strikes, according to Axios.

Remarks Echo Trump’s Criticism of the 2015 Nuclear Deal

Trump has long contrasted his approach with the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which he withdrew the United States in 2018. He has called the deal disastrous and argued that Iran would eventually have obtained a nuclear weapon under it.

On October 25, Trump wrote that former President Barack Obama paid Iran billions of dollars and gave it “a road to a Nuclear Weapon.”

His latest comments follow the same reasoning, with an emphasis on preventing Tehran from reaching that point.

Comments Come Amid Renewed Diplomatic Efforts

The remarks come as Washington pursues renewed diplomatic contacts with Tehran. Vice President JD Vance has reportedly offered to meet Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, to discuss a possible nuclear settlement, according to The Washington Post.

Trump said on October 28 that the outreach concerned medical supplies. Asked whether he had directed Vance to contact Iran to start peace negotiations, he answered “No.” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday that Tehran had received the letter but had not yet responded.

Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday for talks coordinated with Washington, an official told Reuters. At the same time, the U.S. has warned Gulf states to brace for an intense Iran campaign after the midterms, as reported earlier by Clash Report.

The White House is seeking binding limits on Iran’s nuclear program while maintaining military pressure, and Trump’s remarks reflect the logic behind that approach: that Iran must not acquire the leverage a nuclear weapon would provide.