US in peace talks with Iran after strikes on nuclear sites, envoy says

The United States is holding negotiations with Iran aimed at securing a long-term peace agreement, US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday in an interview with Fox News.

"We are already talking to each other, not just directly but also through interlocutors. I think that the conversations are promising. We are hopeful that we can have a long-term peace agreement that resurrects Iran,” Witkoff said.

He also defended recent US strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, rejecting doubts about their effectiveness. “Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon following the destruction of Esfahan, Natanz, and Fordow,” Witkoff said, adding that the strikes eliminated Iran’s nuclear capability.

Witkoff said bunker buster bombs rendered Esfahan’s conversion facility and Natanz’s enrichment site inoperable, and that the Fordow site was also destroyed.

His comments came after CNN reported on a leaked preliminary US intelligence assessment suggesting the strikes did not destroy the three targeted nuclear sites. Citing sources familiar with the assessment, CNN said the Defense Intelligence Agency believes the attacks failed to eliminate key components of Iran’s nuclear program or its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and likely only delayed its progress by several months.

Witkoff called for an investigation into the leak, saying the claims undermined the administration’s message and ongoing diplomatic efforts.