Trump Says US, Iran To Hold Talks as Envoy Witkoff Sets Red Line on Enrichment, Weaponization
Nuclear enrichment and weaponization by Iran are red lines for the United States, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday, as the White House confirmed that US and Iranian officials are expected to meet next week for preliminary talks.
Speaking to CNBC, Witkoff said he was hopeful for a comprehensive peace agreement but made clear that Washington would not tolerate any steps by Iran toward building a nuclear weapon.
“We can’t have weaponization,” he said. “That will destabilize the entire region. Everyone will then need a bomb, and we just can’t have that.”
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Witkoff added that any agreement must include the creation of a “better civil nuclear program … that is nonenrichable” and dismissed claims that Iran’s nuclear program had only been temporarily set back.
“Our CIA thinks the opposite,” he said, citing extensive US and Israeli damage to facilities at Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan.
The comments came hours after President Trump, speaking at the NATO summit in The Hague, said ceasefire efforts with Iran were holding and that he was open to new negotiations.
“We may sign an agreement, I don’t know,” the president said. “To me, I don’t think it’s that necessary. The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done.”
Though Iran has not publicly confirmed the talks, President Trump claimed, “We’re gonna meet with them,” and reiterated his belief that the strikes had eliminated Iran’s ability to enrich uranium or build a bomb.
