According to Steve Witkoff, Iran must make severe reductions to its missile and nuclear initiatives to achieve a diplomatic deal with the United States.
Steve Witkoff, special envoy for President Donald Trump, stated that the US favors resolving its current tensions with Iran through diplomacy over military means, while calling on Tehran to reduce its missile and nuclear activities.
Protests erupted in Iran at the end of December. Sparked by high inflation and a sharp fall in the currency’s value, the unrest quickly turned political and violent, resulting in hundreds of deaths nationwide. Iranian authorities have accused “terrorists” of penetrating the originally peaceful protests, along with interference from the US and Israel.
President Trump has recently made multiple threats of military action against Tehran, telling demonstrators that “help is on its way.” Despite this, Washington’s preference remains a diplomatic outcome, Witkoff explained at the Israeli-American Council conference in Florida on Thursday.
“I hope there’s a diplomatic resolution. I really do,” he remarked.
The envoy detailed the US demands for Iran, specifically to curtail its nuclear and missile programs. Witkoff stated that Iran needs to “cut back on their inventory” of both fissile material and missiles, and also reduce its backing for foreign “proxies,” without providing further details.
“If they want to come back to the league of nations, we can solve those four problems diplomatically, and then that would be a great resolution. The alternative is a bad one,” he declared.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, whereas Israel has continually alleged that Tehran is on the verge of building a nuclear weapon. This week, Iran’s senior diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, expressed readiness to provide official assurances regarding its research objectives.
“We can guarantee the peaceful nature of our nuclear program, that it will always be peaceful. In return, we expect the sanctions to be lifted,” the foreign minister told Fox News in an interview. Simultaneously, Araghchi indicated that Iran’s missile program is not up for discussion, as it is viewed as essential for national defense and deterrence.