US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff emphasized on Sunday that any prospective nuclear agreement with Tehran should explicitly ban uranium enrichment reiterating President Donald Trump’s tough stance on Iran’s nuclear program.
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Witkoff said that enrichment of uranium is still a non-negotiable red line for Washington. “We cannot have even 1% of an enrichment capacity,” he said. “It all begins with a deal that excludes enrichment. Enrichment is followed by weaponization, and we cannot let a nuclear bomb arrive on our shores.”
Tehran promptly dismissed the US stance. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, as quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, declared enrichment is not up for negotiation. “Unrealistic demands disrupt negotiations. Enrichment in Iran will not cease,” he stated, calling Witkoff “far detached from the truth of the negotiations.”
In spite of the tensions, Witkoff sounded optimistic about going back to negotiations in Europe later this week. “We hope these negotiations will create some positive momentum,” he said. Araqchi supported that the date and place of the next round of negotiations would be announced shortly.
The discord highlights the broad chasm between the two parties as they negotiate a settlement over Iran’s nuclear aspirations. President Trump last week sent mixed signals, asserting Thursday that a deal for Iran to reach a nuclear agreement was imminent, while warning Friday that Tehran needs to move quickly or else suffer severe consequences. “They have an offer. They know that time is running out, or something bad will occur,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One.
Araqchi responded on social media that Tehran had not been presented with any official proposal by Washington.
Throughout Trump’s first term in office, he pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which had limited Tehran’s enrichment in return for sanctions relief. The US has since reimposed sweeping sanctions, ratcheting up pressure on Iran.
