Witkoff says president ‘curious’ about Tehran’s defiance despite Washington’s military build-up
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’ summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. SOURCE: REUTERS
WASHINGTON/PARIS:
US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Saturday that President Donald Trump is questioning why Iran has not “capitulated” in the face of Washington’s military build-up aimed at pressuring them into a nuclear deal.
The United States and Iran this week resumed Oman-mediated talks in Geneva aimed at averting the possibility of military action, after Washington dispatched two aircraft carriers, jets and weaponry to the region to back its warnings.
In a Fox News interview with Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Witkoff said the president was “curious” about Iran’s position after he had warned them of severe consequences in the event they failed to strike a deal.
“I don’t want to use the word “frustrated” because he understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious as to why they haven’t… I don’t want to use the word ‘capitulated,’ but why they haven’t capitulated,” he said.
“Why, under this pressure, with the amount of seapower and naval power over there, why haven’t they come to us and said, ‘We profess we don’t want a weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do’? And yet it’s sort of hard to get them to that place.”
The US envoy also confirmed in the interview that he had met with Reza Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the monarchy.
“I met him at the direction of the president,” he said, without providing further details.
US-based Pahlavi last week told a crowd in Munich that he was ready to lead the country to a “secular democratic future” after Trump said regime change would be best for the country.
Witkoff’s comments come after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a draft proposal for an agreement with Washington would be ready in a matter of days.
Trump said on Thursday that Iran had at most 15 days to make a deal on concerns starting with its nuclear program.
As talks between the two nations continued in Geneva, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said that Trump would not succeed in destroying the Islamic republic.
Western countries accuse the Islamic Republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies, though it insists on its right to enrichment for civilian purposes.
Iran, for its part, is seeking to negotiate an end to sanctions that have proven to be a massive drag on its economy, which played a role in sparking anti-government protests in December.
Meanwhile, Araghchi said Sunday that his country would strike back at US interests in the Middle East in the event of an attack, though he still saw a chance for a diplomatic resolution.
Speaking to US broadcaster CBS, the Iranian foreign minister said he expected new talks on the details of a deal, “probably” Thursday, as fears loomed of renewed conflict after Washington carried out a major redeployment of military assets to the region.
On Sunday, Iranian students held competing pro- and anti-government protests at several universities, with critics of the clerical leadership risking arrest or worse if they are caught.
“If the US attacks us, then we have every right to defend ourselves,” Araghchi said, alluding to American interests in the region as potential targets.
Still, he said, “there is a good chance to have a diplomatic solution”.
After a recent round of talks in Geneva, Iran said it was preparing a draft proposal for an agreement that would avert military action.
“I believe that when we meet, probably this Thursday in Geneva again, we can work on those elements and prepare a good text and come to a fast deal,” Araghchi told CBS.
Axios had earlier reported, citing an unnamed senior US official, that if Iran submitted its proposal in the next 48 hours, Washington was ready to meet again later in the week “to start detailed negotiations”.
The US has sent two aircraft carriers to the Middle East in recent weeks, along with other jets and ships, and has also shored up its air defences in the region to back up its threats of military intervention.
