The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Stand up for the facts! Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on April 30, 2018 in a press conference: \"In seven years that (nuclear) deal will have expired, and Iran is free to go ahead and create nuclear weapons.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * National * Iran * Nuclear * Donald Trump ![\\"Jon](\\" By Jon Greenberg May 2, 2018 # Donald Trump says wrongly the Iran nuclear deal expires in 7 years President Donald Trump has until May 12 to decide whether to continue waiving sanctions against Iran under the 2015 agreement that rolled back the country’s nuclear program. At an April 30 press conference, Trump said pulling out of the deal would send the right message on American policy. \"In seven years that deal will have expired, and Iran is free to go ahead and create nuclear weapons,\" Trump said. \"That\'s not acceptable. Seven years is tomorrow. That\'s not acceptable.\" Trump is incorrect about the expiration date. The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, puts a cap on enriched uranium until 2030, or 12 years from now. After that, other agreements limit nuclear weapons development in Iran. A focus on fuel A full nuclear weapons program needs fuel for a bomb, a warhead, and a way to deliver the warhead, such as a missile or a plane. \"By far the most important and the most difficult step is producing the fuel,\" said Matthew Kroenig at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. \"That’s why the Obama administration wanted to limit Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium. And it’s why it was so important to Iran to have the limits end after 15 years.\" Under the deal, Iran gave up 97 percent of its stockpile of enriched uranium. It also lost 14,000 of its 20,000 centrifuges, the machines used to enrich uranium, and it agreed to only enrich uranium to a level unsuitable for weapons for 15 years. For plutonium, the other possible fuel for a nuclear bomb, the agreement bans plutonium reactors for 15 years and stipulates that Iran must dismantle its current one. The White House pointed to an Associated Press article about a confidential side agreement that, according to the article, allows Iran to \"install centrifuges up to five times as efficient as the 5,060 machines it is now restricted to using.\" That would kick in at Year 11, or 2026. The article warned that this could reduce the time needed to produce weapons-grade uranium after the deal expired. The White House also noted a Brookings Institution summary that said that after 2025, Iran could \"test large numbers of, and conduct enrichment R&D with, advanced centrifuges,\" and get a space ready for running the most advanced centrifuge after 2030. So starting seven years from now, Iran could begin developing and then using better centrifuges. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on August 18, 2024 in X post Photo shows “pallets or containers of bricks have been found near locations designated for protests related to the Democratic National Convention” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • August 20, 2024 However, both of those sources noted that for 15 years, Iran could not have more than 300 kg (660 pounds) of low-enriched uranium, well below the amount experts agree is needed to make a single bomb. Why does the cap matter? Because even as Iran installed more efficient centrifuges, it could not end up with more enriched uranium than is permitted. The agreement spells out various ways to make that happen, either by diluting the uranium or sending it out of the country under international controls. The Arms Control Association, a group that supports the Iran deal, produced this timeline. The gray bars at the top show the changes in the centrifuge rules at the 10-year mark, and the limits on enriched uranium through the 15-year mark. ![](\\" iA1tJgmAumGFAcvkioJ_hefxl7x_imlgO8Liid- RMrxQPnxg45s5_5K1rTk3IelCuVesJz9fKHKIpGFRbmm5xcgkdOi0gTou41H30riXCI1hdmoMeSx6R1T0tT96\\"/) Building a bomb Trump said that in seven years Iran would be free to build nuclear weapons. But under the agreement and the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Iran agreed on paper at least that it would never build a nuclear weapon. Formally, it would not be free to do as it pleases. \"Some of the terms last forever,\" said nuclear arms expert Matthew Bunn at Harvard’s Kennedy School. \"The deal prohibits Iran forever from the key activities of a nuclear weapon design and manufacture program — experimenting with the relevant types of explosives, doing the relevant neutron modeling, and so on.\" Bunn added: \"And Iran’s acceptance of the broader inspections called for in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol also lasts indefinitely.\" The Additional Protocol improves international oversight of nuclear fuel, from when it is mined to when it becomes waste, and allows broader inspections, such as collecting environmental samples at any location to detect radioactive materials. Plus, many activities have to be approved by a commission that oversees the agreement. The deal does have one element that clearly ends at the 10-year mark. If Iran fully complies with the deal for a decade, the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions on Iran’s nuclear program come to an end. That is called Termination Day. The agreement itself continues in force, but the United Nations no longer has Iran’s nuclear program on its docket. The White House noted this clause. Our ruling Trump said that the Iran nuclear deal expires in seven years and after that, Iran is free to develop a nuclear weapon. The agreement’s limits on enriched uranium last for another 12 years. While some restrictions ease after seven years, the key elements that prevent Iran from enriching the uranium needed for a bomb remain until 2030. In addition, certain terms last forever, including the prohibition on ever designing or making a nuclear weapon, and remaining under the eye of international inspectors. We rate this claim False. Share the Facts 2018-05-02 21:05:08 UTC PolitiFact ![\\"PolitiFact\\"](\\" logo-big.jpg\\"/) 2 1 7 ![\\"PolitiFact](\\" false.jpg\\") PolitiFact Rating: False \"In seven years that (nuclear) deal will have expired, and Iran is free to go ahead and create nuclear weapons.\" Donald Trump President of the United States ![](\\" In a press conference. Monday, April 30, 2018 2018-04-30 Read More info #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources White House, President Donald Trump Holds Joint Press Conference With Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, April 30, 2018 Associated Press, Document shows less limits on Iran nuke work, July 19, 2016 Brookings, A comprehensive timeline of the Iran nuclear deal, July 21, 2015 U.S. State Department, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, July 14, 2015 Arms Control Association, Restrictions on Iran’s Nuclear Program: Beyond 15 Years, Aug. 26, 2015 Harvard Kennedy School, The Iran Nuclear Deal A Definitive Guide, August 2015 International Atomic Energy Agency, Additional Protocol, accessed May 2, 2018 Interview, Matthew Kroenig, associate professor, Department of Government and School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, May 1, 2018 Email interview, Daryl Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association, May 1, 2018 Email interview, Matthew Bunn, nuclear specialist, Harvard Kennedy School, May 2, 2018 Email interview, Stephen Cheung, director of strategic response, White House press office, May 2, 2018 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Jon Greenberg ![](\\" ![](\\" Tucker Carlson stated on November 8, 2022 in election night coverage on Fox News: “Electronic voting machines didn\'t allow people to vote” in Maricopa County, Arizona. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • November 9, 2022 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on November 8, 2022 in a tweet: “There is no chain of custody” for ballots placed in Box No. 3 at Maricopa, Arizona, polling sites. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • November 8, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Ryan stated on November 1, 2022 in a town hall event: “J.D. Vance said nothing about” the attack on Paul Pelosi. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • November 3, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mark Kelly stated on October 26, 2022 in a newspaper interview: Blake Masters “wants to privatize” Social Security. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • October 28, 2022 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on October 25, 2022 in an Instagram post: The documentary “2,000 Mules proves” Democrats “cheated on the 2020 elections.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • October 28, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Blake Masters stated on October 15, 2022 in a tweet: Immigrants illegally in the country are treated “better than military veterans.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • October 21, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Katie Hobbs stated on October 9, 2022 in an interview on CBS News\' Face the Nation: Kari Lake has “gone on the record saying she supports Arizona\'s complete abortion ban. She\'s called it a great law.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • October 12, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on October 9, 2022 in an interview on CBS News\' Face the Nation: “Katie Hobbs voted for allowing a baby who survives an abortion — that the hospital would refuse medical care and allow the baby to die on a cold metal tray.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • October 12, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Ryan stated on September 27, 2022 in a campaign ad: “I voted with Trump on trade.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • October 4, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mark Finchem stated on September 22, 2022 in a Secretary of State debate: Ballot harvesting “altered the outcome” of a city council election in Yuma County, Arizona. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • September 23, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Saving Arizona PAC stated on September 8, 2022 in a campaign ad: “Mark Kelly voted against the Keystone pipeline, which caused higher gas prices.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • September 16, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Elizabeth Warren stated on August 28, 2022 in an interview on CNN: \"40% of the folks who have student loans do not have a college diploma, four- year diploma. These are people who are truck drivers and who are nail technicians and nurses’ aides.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • September 13, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Hillary Clinton stated on September 6, 2022 in a tweet.: “I had zero emails that were classified.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • September 13, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Scott stated on August 10, 2022 in an interview on Fox News: “The Congressional Budget Office says 90% of the revenue generated from the new IRS agents will come from people making less than $200,000 … and the revenue generated will be $300-plus billion.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • August 17, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bob Good stated on August 10, 2022 in a tweet.: “Democrats are voting to add an army of 87,000 IRS agents who will target middle class taxpayers and conduct at least 1 million more audits each year. ” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Warren Fiske • August 17, 2022 ### Donald Trump says wrongly the Iran nuclear deal expires in 7 years * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a post: “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Gideon Hess • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a post on Threads: An image shows Travis Kelce responding to Elon Musk X post that followed Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: Former President Donald Trump admitted during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he “blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 11, 2024 in a TV ad: Mike Rogers supported “laws that could eliminate IVF and birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a Facebook post: ABC News fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: Imagen muestra carnet del Partido Comunista de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 13, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. Sign me up #### Offices District of Columbia 1800 I Street NW Washington, DC 20006 Florida 801 3rd St. S St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-821-9494 #### People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis #### State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin #### About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters #### RSS Feeds * Recent Articles and Fact-checks * Recent Fact-checks Suggest a Fact-check #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Copyright ©All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ![\\"\\"](\\" ✕ * * *
In seven years that nuclear deal will have expired and Iran is free to go ahead and create nuclear weapons