US wants to negotiate with Iran on nuclear programme: US envoy

According to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s communication with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, regarding a potential new nuclear deal is an attempt to prevent direct military action.

Witkoff told Fox News on Sunday, “We don’t need to solve everything militarily.” Let’s sit down and see if we can get there through dialogue and diplomacy, Iran’s message. We are capable of doing that if we can. The alternative is not a great alternative if we can’t.

Trump stated on March 7 that he wanted to discuss Iran’s nuclear activities with the Iranian leadership and that he warned of possible military action if it refused. Khamenei, who claimed Iran wasn’t going to engage with a “bully,” criticized the approach.

Trump has also threatened Tehran over any support for the Yemeni Houthis, who have resumed their military support for Palestinians by attacking Israel after it rebuffed its blockade of aid and rekindled its conflict there.

Trump rebuffed Iran’s demand that the group operate independently in light of the US’s intense airstrikes against Yemen last week, saying that Tehran would be held accountable for any attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.

According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, talks with the US are impossible until Washington changes its pressure policy on Sunday. He claimed on Thursday that Tehran would respond soon and that the letter was “actually more of a threat.”

After Trump pulled the US out of a landmark nuclear deal in 2018, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which placed additional sanctions on Iran, there is little faith in Iran in US negotiations commitments. In 2015, Iran’s nuclear deal was halted by the JCOPA in exchange for sanctions relief.

Iran has increased its uranium enrichment to up to 60% purity since Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the deal, which is a step lower than the 90% required for ww2 uranium.

Iran has enough fissile material for multiple bombs, but it hasn’t made any effort to build one, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which inspects Iranian nuclear sites.

Trump has resumed a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran despite making hints about the need to negotiate since returning to the White House earlier this year.

Additionally, senior White House officials on Wednesday reiterated that Iran must completely abandon its nuclear program, leaving all uranium enrichment activities, even at their lowest levels.