CNN
–
US envoy Steve Witkov said the discussion with Iran was about verifying the nuclear program and was to stop Tehran from asking for it to be completely demolished.
“Conversations with Iranians will be a lot about two key points,” Witkoff told Fox News on Monday. The first is the verification of uranium enrichment. “And ultimately it includes weaponization verification, missiles, the types of missiles they stocked there, and bomb triggers.”
Witkov did not mention the demand for a complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, as other US officials have.
Other officials were even more hawkish about what the US expects from Iran. On Sunday, the day after Witkov began consultations with Iranian negotiators in Oman, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses called on Tehran to completely dismantle the nuclear program.
“Iran, come to the table, negotiate, and complete dismantle your nuclear capabilities,” he told Fox News, repeating his remarks before US national security adviser Michael Waltz.
Iranian officials have dismissed the proposal as a non-starter and accused the US of using it as an excuse to weaken and ultimately defeat the Islamic Republic. Tehran is entitled to a private nuclear program under the United Nations Convention.
However, UN nuclear observers warn that Iran is accelerating uranium enrichment to up to 60% purity, near the weapons grade level of about 90%.
Uranium is a powerful fuel used in nuclear power and weapons. Once concentrated, it can be used to generate electricity or create bombs, depending on how concentrated it is.
On Friday, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that Iran had set strict conditions ahead of talks with the US, saying the “red line” includes “intimidating language” and “overreaching demands on Iran’s nuclear program.” The US must also refrain from raising issues related to Iran’s defense industry, Tasnim said it is likely to mention Iran’s ballistic missile program, which the US Middle Eastern allies view as a threat to their security.
Witkov began consultations with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut on Saturday. The next round of talk took place on April 19th, and told CNN that anyone familiar with the plan is likely to be in Rome, but the plan has not been completely cancelled.
It is unclear how the transactions Trump is hoping to differ from those intermediated by the Obama administration in 2015. Trump vowed to sign a “stronger” agreement this time.
In his first comments on the issue since Iranian-US negotiators met over the weekend, Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Tuesday against repeating “mistakes we made” in his final negotiations with the US. He said that Iranians should not “connect these consultations with national issues.”
“The deal may or may not be,” he said.
Israel is one of Iran’s biggest defenders for complete dismantling of its nuclear program.
Last week, in collaboration with Trump in the oval office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promoted a Libyan-style nuclear deal between the US and Iran.
After abandoning its nuclear program, Libya descended into a civil war after a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, which led to his killing. Iranian officials have long warned that similar deals would be rejected from the start.