Iran on Wednesday warned the US against “moving the goalposts” after US envoy Steve Witkoff suggested the Trump administration was seeking a deal to eliminate Tehran’s civilian nuclear program.
Witkoff said in a statement on Tuesday that any deal must “eliminate its nuclear enrichment” program. The statement came after he suggested the US would be happy with a deal that limited Iran’s nuclear enrichment to 3.67%, which drew backlash from Iran hawks.
“Moving the goalposts constitutes a professional foul and an unfair act in football. In diplomacy, any such shifting (pushed by hawks who fail to grasp the logic/art of commonsensical deal-making) could simply risk any overtures falling apart,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote on X.
“It could be perceived as lack of seriousness, let alone good faith. We’re still in testing mode,” Baghaei added.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also responded to Witkoff’s comments, saying Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was non-negotiable. “Iran’s enrichment is a real, accepted matter. We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable,” he said.
Iran is currently enriching some uranium at 60% and 20%, which is still below the 90% needed for weapons-grade. Tehran has made clear it’s willing to reduce enrichment levels, but eliminating its nuclear program altogether is a non-starter. The 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, which President Trump withdrew from in his first term, capped Iran’s enrichment levels at 3.67%.
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 and Witkoff are set to lead delegations for another round of negotiations this Saturday. The two officials spoke briefly after holding indirect talks in Oman, marking the first direct engagement between high-level US and Iranian officials in recent years.
