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Divisions have emerged inside the Trump administration over how far to push Iran in nuclear negotiations, with top officials split between calls for full dismantlement and a more limited, verifiable deal, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
While National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have maintained that Iran must be stripped of all enrichment capabilities, chief negotiator Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance have privately argued that such a demand would likely derail the talks, the report said, citing officials familiar with internal discussions.
“Mr. Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance have argued internally that it would doom the negotiations to insist on full dismantlement,” the report said. Instead, they support strict verification measures, potentially run by the United States.
Witkoff initially suggested a softer approach during a Fox News interview Monday night, describing the need for “verification on enrichment... and ultimately verification on weaponization.” But following a White House meeting Tuesday, he released a new statement declaring, “Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.”
Talks are set to resume Saturday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that negotiations with the United States are continuing in a routine manner and are not disrupting the country’s internal affairs, Iranian media reported.
“The talks are proceeding normally, and government affairs are moving forward without being held up even for a second,” Pezeshkian told a cabinet meeting. “Naturally, we would welcome a final agreement if it is reached.”
The sole aim of nuclear negotiations with the United States should be the removal of banking and oil sanctions, Iranian lawmaker Nadergholi Ebrahimi said on Wednesday.
Ebrahimi, who represents the city of Arak, said the talks had received the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, but must remain within the framework of "dignity, wisdom, and expediency."
“The sole objective of the negotiators must be lifting oil and banking sanctions, and nothing else,” he said.
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Wednesday that reopening the US embassy in Tehran “has no relevance at this time,” speaking to reporters at a press briefing.
She added, however, that Iran remains open to American investment. “We welcome US investors under fair conditions,” she said.
An Iranian conservative daily warned Tuesday that the country could expel international nuclear inspectors and relocate its enriched uranium if military threats intensify, injecting new tension into Tehran-Washington relations.
The warning came just hours before Rafael Grossi, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was due to arrive in Tehran.
“If a serious military threat emerges, Iran will expel the inspectors, cut their access, and move nuclear materials to locations beyond reach,” Farhikhtegan wrote.
It accused the IAEA of political bias and said Grossi’s previous visits had yielded cooperation only from Iran. “Despite Iran’s compliance, the agency has published reports that fuel anti-Iran resolutions,” it added.
Grossi’s visit coincides with the anticipated second round of negotiations between Iranian and US officials. While details of the agenda remain unclear, the talks have stirred strong opposition across Iran’s ultraconservative press, particularly following mixed signals from Washington.
After the first round of negotiations in Oman on Saturday, US envoy Steve Witkoff said Monday that Iran might be allowed to continue low-level enrichment under a deal resembling the original JCPOA. But on Tuesday, he tweeted that “Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.”
“A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal," the special envoy said.
The hardline daily Kayhan, overseen by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office, focused on Tuesday on Witkoff’s new comments and accused the US of using diplomacy to mask coercive aims.
Editor Hossein Shariatmadari wrote that Witkoff’s offer in earlier talks had “no more value than a cheap political ruse,” adding that the US had “flunked its first test of sincerity.”
“The Americans pretend to negotiate, but their demands expose their true intentions—disarming the Islamic Republic and and plowing its land and people,” Shariatmadari said.
Meanwhile, senior Iranian military adviser Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari told ILNA news agency that Tehran’s stance would not change under pressure.
“Our positions are firm. It is the Americans and the Zionists who must adjust to Iran’s terms,” he said.
With nuclear inspectors in Tehran and diplomacy on a knife’s edge, Iran’s conservative media are pushing a dual message: cooperation remains conditional, but retaliation, if provoked, would be decisive.
