Trump envoy backtracks on remarks about limiting Iran's nuclear program

Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s point person on talks with Iran, clarified earlier remarks on Tuesday saying the White House could tolerate Iran having a civilian nuclear program, saying it wants Tehran to eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weapons program.  

“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 wrote on the social platform X. 

“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’s remarks came after he appeared Monday night on Fox News’s “Hannity,” where he said the U.S. would not tolerate Iran enriching uranium beyond 3.67 percent — triggering backlash from Iran hawks that the Trump administration was reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama-era nuclear deal that Trump exited in 2018. 

Witkoff participated in talks with Iranian officials in Oman on Saturday, the first major engagement between the Trump administration and Tehran over whether a deal could be reached that would see the U.S. trade sanctions relief on Iran for the dismantling of its nuclear weapons program. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a “Libya model” for Iran’s nuclear program, which would mean a complete dismantling of the program.

Israel also wants U.S. support for a potential military strike if there’s a determination Iran is moving toward building a nuclear weapon. U.S. intelligence assesses that Tehran has not made the decision to make a nuclear weapon. 

Trump on Monday said Iran “has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon.”

Trump has suggested he would support military action against Iran if they fail to come to an agreement with the United States.

“They have to solve their problem very quickly. Iran wants to deal with us, but they don't know how, they really don't know how,” Trump said, speaking to reporters from the Oval Office. 

“We had a meeting with them on Saturday. We have another meeting scheduled next Saturday — I said that's a long time, you know that's a long time, so I think they might be tapping us along.”