US Energy Secretary says a nuclear deal with Iran may not happen as Washington leans toward destroying its nuclear capability

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an interview on ABC's This Week on Sunday, September 6, 2026 (15 Shahrivar 1405), that there may not be a nuclear deal with Iran, and that Washington could instead move to destroy Iran's capability to build a nuclear weapon. According to Al Jazeera, Wright said it may be simply destroying their capabilities to do it, adding the US is degrading Iran's capacity to develop and deliver a nuclear weapon.

Wright said an agreement with Iran could instead await the next Iranian administration, and that other countries around the world would join the effort. The comments follow the collapse of a US Iran memorandum of understanding in July and the resumption of attacks between the two sides, even as the White House has sought to downplay the scale of the conflict in public remarks. Al Jazeera said it had contacted the White House for comment.