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US envoy Steve Witkoff, who on Monday appeared to signal that Washington might tolerate limited uranium enrichment by Iran, clarified in a Tuesday tweet that Tehran "must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program."
Witkoff’s remarks on Monday suggested that any new deal could closely resemble the Obama-era JCPOA, which President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018.
In a tweet on Tuesday Witkoff seemed to have backtracked from his earlier statement.
“A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal," the special envoy said and added, "...meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program."
On Monday, Witkoff had said in an interview with Fox News’ Hannity that Iran's uranium enrichment would not be eliminated entirely but rather scaled back to the JCPOA’s limit of 3.67 percent. “They do not need to enrich past 3.67 percent,” he said.
Ha also added that “This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization. That includes missiles—the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there—and it includes the trigger for a bomb.”
This particular demand would be within reach, as Tehran has repeatedly has called for a US return to the original terms of the JCPOA.
So what was new in Witkoff’s remarks in his interview with Fox?
First, the Trump administration is seeking a broader inspection regime than the one included in the JCPOA. This could entail access not only to declared enrichment facilities, but also to potential sites involved in warhead development. Iran has consistently resisted such expanded oversight, and this will likely be a point of friction in the talks.
Second, Witkoff explicitly mentioned Iran’s ballistic missile program—a domain left mostly untouched by the original nuclear deal. Including missile oversight would require access to Iran’s extensive military research and development infrastructure, which Tehran has long refused to open to outside inspection.
The logic for including missiles is clear. If Iran were to produce nuclear warheads, ballistic missiles would be its most viable delivery system. Iran has already built thousands of such missiles. While they may not be highly advanced, when armed with nuclear warheads, they could pose a significant threat to the region, including Israel, Greece, and potentially other parts of southern and eastern Europe.
Witkoff had hinted at the administration’s limited goals in an earlier interview with Tucker Carlson in March. However, other senior officials, including the Secretary of State and the National Security Adviser, have publicly pushed for the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program.
One unresolved issue is also the fate of nearly 300 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that Iran has stockpiled. According to a report by The Guardian on Tuesday, the United States has proposed transferring the material to a third country, such as Russia—a move Tehran is likely to oppose. The issue was reportedly raised during recent talks in Oman between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff, but Iran insisted the stockpile remain under UN supervision inside the country..
Ultimately, the central question is how quickly and how far Tehran is prepared to go in reaching a deal, specially if the US insists on zero enrichment—and whether the Trump administration is willing to compromise on its tougher demands during the bargaining process.
"Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," President Trump said on April 14. "I think they're tapping us along because they were so used to dealing with stupid people in this country."
“They've got to go fast, because they're fairly close to having one, and they're not going to have one,” he added. “If we have to do something very harsh, we'll do it. And I'm not doing it for us, I'm doing it for the world. These are radicalized people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Regional support for US-Iran nuclear talks is broader than during the talks for the 2015 deal, former Iranian lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said on Tuesday, according to ILNA.
“All countries in the region, except Israel, have welcomed these negotiations — even during the JCPOA, that level of support didn’t exist,” he said, calling it a clear sign that the region wants stability and expanded economic ties.
Falahatpisheh, former head of parliament’s national security committee, also criticized the use of indirect talks and urged a move to direct negotiations. He added that Iran has no ideological objection to economic cooperation with the United States.
Iran is using nuclear talks with the US to delay pressure and recover from regional setbacks without making major concessions, The Spectator reported on Tuesday.
Tehran aims to keep the talks narrowly focused on its nuclear program while refusing to discuss its ballistic missiles or regional activities, according to analysis by Jonathan Spyer. Iran’s goal is either a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal or a drawn-out process that stalls further sanctions and military threats.
Tehran has suffered significant losses to its regional allies, with Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis under pressure and Syria's Bashar Assad no longer in power. Despite these blows, the core structure of Iran’s influence remains intact, and Iran sees time as its most valuable asset.
Iran is likely to reject a US proposal to move its stockpile of enriched uranium to a third country, such as Russia, as part of efforts to curb its nuclear programme, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.
The issue was raised in recent talks in Oman between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff. Iran insists the stockpile remain under UN supervision inside the country.
Iranians “do not need to enrich past 3.67%,” Donald Trump’s special envoy and chief negotiator Steve Witkoff said Monday.
3.67 percent is the uranium enrichment limit set by Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with the Obama administration.
Witkoff told Fox News that the negotiations with Iran are “going to be very much about verification of the enrichment program, and ultimately verification of weaponization.”
“That includes missiles — the type of missiles they have stockpiled — and it includes the trigger for a bomb,” he added.
The Trump administration had earlier called for the full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program. However Witkoff’s remarks now indicate the US negotiators may allow some uranium enrichment in Iran.
