Michael Gabriel Hernandez
15 April 2025•Update: 16 April 2025
WASHINGTON
Iran must eliminate its enrichment activities as part of any agreement concerning its nuclear program, President Donald Trump's special envoy said 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," Steve Witkoff said in a statement.
"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," he added.
The comments come as Witkoff prepares to again lead a US delegation on negotiations with Iran that will resume Saturday in Oman after an initial round concluded last weekend with both sides striking upbeat notes.
Trump this week downplayed the difficulties in the negotiations, saying the talks are almost "easy."
Trump told reporters he would broker a resolution to the long-standing issue, describing it as "almost an easy one" to resolve. Still, he complained that the next meeting with Iran is not scheduled until next Saturday, which he described as a "long time" following the conclusion of this weekend's talks in Oman, while accusing Tehran of purposefully drawing out the talks.
"I want them to be a rich, great nation. The only thing is one thing, simple. It's really simple. They can't have a nuclear weapon, and they got to go fast, because they're fairly close to having one, and they're not going to have one, and if we have to do something very harsh we'll do it," he added.
Trump has threatened Iran with military strikes and secondary sanctions if it failed to reach a new deal with the US on its nuclear program -- to replace a deal Trump scuttled during his first term.
The negotiations mark the first direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran since the signing of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from that nuclear deal, which was brokered between world powers and Iran, in 2018, and reimposed sanctions on Tehran in what he calls a "maximum pressure campaign." The effort proved futile during the US president's first term, and only served to exacerbate regional tensions.
Despite complying with the JCPOA for more than a year after the US withdrawal, Iran gradually reduced its commitments, citing the failure of the deal’s remaining signatories to protect its interests.
