Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, said in a statement on Tuesday that Iran must “eliminate its nuclear enrichment” program, suggesting the Trump administration is hardening its position in negotiations with Tehran.
Witkoff made the comments a day after appearing on Fox News and suggesting that the US wanted Iran to reduce its levels of nuclear enrichment to 3.67%, the enrichment level under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, which President Trump withdrew from in 2018. Iran currently enriches some uranium at 20% and 60%, still below the 90% needed for weapons-grade.
Witkoff’s comments on Fox signaled that the US was not demanding the full dismantlement of Iran’s civilian nuclear program, which is believed to be a non-starter for Tehran. After strong backlash from Iran hawks, Witkoff appeared to reverse his stance in the statement he released on Tuesday.
“A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal. Any final arrangement must set a framework for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East — meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program,” Witkoff said in a statement released by his office.
“It is imperative for the world that we create a tough, fair deal that will endure, and that is what President Trump has asked me to do,” Witkoff added.
Witkoff participated in the indirect negotiations between the US and Iran this past weekend and briefly spoke directly with the leader of the Iranian delegation, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. While both sides said the talks went well, and another round is scheduled for this Saturday, President Trump suggested on Monday that Iran was “tapping” the US and repeated his threat of military action if a deal isn’t reached.
Trump has been threatening to bomb Iran over its nuclear program even though US intelligence agencies recently said in their annual threat assessment that there’s no evidence that Tehran is building a nuclear bomb or that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has reversed his 2003 fatwah that banned the production of weapons of mass destruction. Aragchi has also made clear that Iran is willing to reaffirm its pledge that it doesn’t seek nuclear weapons and allay any concerns the US may have when it comes to weaponization.
Trump changes his minded every few hours, so who knows what the goal is with Iran? Is there a goal? In the meantime Iran is enriching uranium to near weapon grade at rate to make one warhead a month. It is a quick step from 60 % enrichment to weapon grade uranium.
We know that Iran must not enrich uranium above what is needed for peaceful purposes. Obama's Nuclear Deal with Iran was unanimous at the UN Security Council, at the IAEA Board of Governors, and with the European Union, and at the Arabs were not unhappy with it either. So no one wants Iran to have that kind of nuclear capability.
If you at the first deal, on January 16, 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran has completed the necessary steps under the Iran deal that will ensure Iran's nuclear program is and remains exclusively peaceful.
Before this agreement, Iran's breakout time — or the time it would have taken for Iran to gather enough fissile material to build a weapon — was only two to three months. Today, because of the Iran deal, it would take Iran 12 months or more. And with the unprecedented monitoring and access this deal puts in place, if Iran tries, we will know and sanctions will snap back into place.
Shipped 25,000 pounds of enriched uranium out of the country
Dismantled and removed two-thirds of its centrifuges
Removed the calandria from its heavy water reactor and filled it with concrete
Provided unprecedented access to its nuclear facilities and supply chaine
How do you know they don't already have a weapon? How do you know they don't have a full nuclear arsenal that would make the fake child killing regime of "Israel" look like a bunch of rank amateurs?
Trump is throwing temper tantrums because he suspects Iran does indeed have a nuclear arsenal (officially kept hidden from Khamenei by the IRGC) but refuses to declare it, thus making it difficult to attack Iran based on this pretext.
If Iran were to exit the NPT, that would give Trump and the Zionists the okay to make a first strike, because they know Iran would never use its nuclear arsenal (if it actually has such warheads) against "Israel" because of its status as the Holy Land and the fact that nuking "Israel" would make the land inhabitable to the indigenous Palestianians.
The arrogance and hubris of the atheist Zionists knows no bounds. But God is obviously not on their side and the future is with the Resistance. "Israel" will lose and the Jews who are smart are already working out in secret a settlement with the indigenous Palestinians on a binational state not dissimilar to the South Africa reconciliation model.
"Israel" has already lost. They just haven't got the memo yet.
I only wish you were right but by all indications the Zionists are putting all their chips on a Final Solution.
I don't know. The uncertainly is a danger. The USA and Israel may strike "just in case".
Trump scrapped the Iran nuclear deal 'to spite Obama'.
Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear deal to spite Barack Obama, according to a leaked memo written by the UK's former ambassador in the US. Sir Kim Darroch described the move as an act of "diplomatic vandalism". https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48978484
Foreign assistance laws prohibit military aid to nuclear-armed countries that are not subject to IAEA inspections.
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Iran does not do exactly as the US commands, then Americans will gleefully attack.
… and gleefully defeated…!
Don't be so sure about that. If the USA puts the correct effort into the attack, the outcome for Iran will not be so good.
No doubt the US has the firepower to do major damage, but the cost will be huge. It's lose/lose no matter who "wins".
Limiting the talks to enrichment levels, almost sounds reasonable but Witkoff almost sounded reasonable in Gaza until he helped Israel blow up the deal. Of course, Iran will demand that any deal be ratified by Congress this time and the uber hawks will defeat any attempt at that.
No Nukes:
The whole strategy of "demonizing Iran" has been a strategy over the years to distract from the REAL problem in the area, Israel. All of Israel's neighbors are "terrorists" for simply wanting the same "right of self-defense" that Israel always get gifted with on the public relations side. Well guess what? By being a "military occupier" Israel reserves no such right!
Washington is going to continue to be a bad faith negotiator until Iran just says FU and continues its perfectly legal programs, at which point Trump and Co. (or whoever is in office) will scream that Tehran is the Bad Guy™ and obviously must be attacked (even though Iran presents no threat to US national security). And what nation will be behind the curtain pulling the US strings? The usual suspect.
What Iran does not understand that for Israel's protection it has to remain completely vulnerable and open to attack. Nothing less will be accepted.
Iran understands all of this perfectly. But they are not warmongers like the Zionists ruling over Washington and Tel Aviv. Instead, they play games and stall for time to avoid the possibility of war.
However, this strategy of "strategic deterrence" only goes so far when you are dealing with fanatical warmongers who want to attack and destroy your country. Iran understands this as well, which is why over the past few decades they have been diligently preparing for the inevitable all-out war against the Zionist West.
The problem is the West does not want to be the one to make the first strike. Trump and Netanyahu want to provoke Iran into such a situation. What they don't understand is that Iran under no circumstances will make a first strike.
Iran's position is strictly defensive. The good thing about this is that if the Zionists are unable to push the US into a first strike against Iran, we will never see any war.
All that said, the Zionists cannot win against Iran and the indigenous Axis of Resistance.
Well said but the zionists are masters at starting wars. The ME is littered with the debris from wars they began. WWI would have ended in 1916 or there abouts and not 1918 with the wrong side winning. As for America, it has been the best experiment of mass propaganda in the world. The entire advertising industry is based on it. Selling war has been perfected by Hollywood and the media to such an extent that the US arms industry is probably the most lucrative
"WWI would have ended in 1916 or there abouts and not 1918 with the wrong side winning" Care to explain?
Rothschild and the zionists offered London a way out of defeat if England and France would lay the groundwork for the future state of Israel. After a lot of propaganda the American population was convinced to switch sides and by 1917 America joined the war. Had it not Germany would have won and world war 2 would not have happened
Even if Germany won in 1916 or 1917 the Russian revol would have happened. All the fascist revolutions were in reaction to the Russian revolution so fascism would have happened but Germany’s economy would have been sound after its victory. It was its defeat and the exorbitant reparations along with the Weimar republic that brought in the national socialists
The most amazing thing and American wars is that they are not declared. They are called anything else but war and that allows defeat. We go from defeat to defeat without the consequences that come from them. The only value being the profit of war. If or when this war begins it will be done without the approvel of Congress
“Iran's position is strictly defensive”
You can’t fund, arm, and encourage multiple proxy armies to attack Israel and expect to remain untouched.
You can’t murder the Palestinian people without incurring the wrath of God.
Right back atcha
You spelled Reich wrong.
Poor Witkoff got back to DC and saw the crazies are running loose … he had to say something.
Negotiations are about negotiating … no enrichment ain’t gonna work, but practical controls have always been possible … let’s see where we are in a few weeks.
Yeah, the way he said, 'meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program' was ambiguous enough to leave him an out if Iran is ultimately allowed to continue to enrich Uranium. At least I hope that's what he was doing.
Then lead by example and that goes for your war crimes committing https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8ed1f3c414f70cceeb87451d83b82e953976dac48d5ecd5431d6608f7912cc0d.jpg lil' buddy that refuses to sign the NPT,remember?
Rules for thee but not for me and my psycho buddy is BS!!!
We all demand an apology!!
Mossad must be getting serious about the Epstein client list and fat orange man is starting to sweat. Israhell wants a war and wants it yesterday.
Upon his return to DC, Witkoff had to look tough on Iran to please the US neocons and warmongers after a smooth relaxed and only-nuke-focus meeting with Iranians…!
"Witkoff had to look tough on Iran to please the US neocons and warmongers after a smooth relaxed and only-nuke-focus meeting with Iranians."
well that's the q – was w just 'acting tough' – where "eliminate… enrichment" can later morph into 'eliminate further enrichment' – or was he following a trump/neocon-driven, deliberate deal-breaker reversal?
or morph into "eliminate enrichment for weaponization" while having a whole separate agreement about their enrichment for civilian purposes. We could call it the JCPOA.
… And Iran says US must dismantle all of its nuclear bombs…!