President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States does not need an agreement with Iran to retrieve the country’s enriched uranium stockpile, and that he has no desire to meet with Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

“We could get it right now. I don’t think they could stop us if we wanted, but there’s no reason to. It’s entombed,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The remarks come as negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain unresolved, and they raised new questions because the proposed deal centers heavily on the future of Iran’s uranium stockpile.

Trump said the buried material is under constant American watch. “It’s being photographed from every angle. We can get it out now. If anyone gets close to it, we will know what to do,” he said.

He also revealed that a military retrieval operation was considered early in the war. “There was a time at the beginning when we thought about doing it,” he said, estimating that a mission to forcibly remove the uranium would take at least two weeks. “Getting there is not like Venezuela. You have to be there for two weeks. You need a lot of equipment.”

Trump indicated he declined the operation because of the risks. “I didn’t feel like being like Jimmy Carter,” he said, alluding to the failed 1980 mission to rescue American hostages in Iran.

On the prospect of meeting Khamenei, Trump said he did not want to, but added that if Washington and Tehran reached a deal, it was possible the two would meet: “If it happened … I’d be respectful.” “In some circles he has a very good reputation actually,” Trump said of the Iranian leader.

The comments mark another apparent softening in Trump’s posture. He recently backed away from his previous demand for an end to all Iranian enrichment, saying on May 15 that he would accept a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing several U.S. officials, that Trump told aides he will only end the ceasefire with Iran if Tehran kills American troops.

Trump also told reporters he believed progress was being made between Israel and Lebanon, saying Lebanon deserved to have peace.

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