US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
Steve Witkoff issues clarification after he appeared to suggest in interview that Iran could keep its civilian nuclear program.
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News Staff
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff clarified on Tuesday that Iran must end its nuclear program, one day after he made remarks which suggested the Islamic Republic would be allowed to continue its nuclear efforts if they were restricted to civilian purposes.
On his official X account Tuesday, Witkoff expressed a tougher stance on Iran’s nuclear activity.
“A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal,” Witkoff wrote.
“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.”
“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 added.
During an interview with the US channel Fox News on Monday, Witkoff said that Iran is enriching uranium at levels far higher than needed for civilian purposes.
He added that the Trump administration was focused on a deal that would limit the enrichment levels and confirm that the country is not working on a nuclear bomb, but failed to state that the Iranian nuclear program must be dismantled.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared visibly dismayed during a recent visit to the White House, in which Trump announced that the US was about to engage in direct talks with Iran to secure a new nuclear deal.
Netanyahu stressed that a potential nuclear deal with Iran must be a “Libya-style agreement,” which would grant military forces the ability to “go in, blow up the facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision with American execution.”
Talks between the US and Iran are ongoing, but Trump has signaled that Tehran “must make a decision quickly” or face “tough” consequences from Washington.
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