US envoy says Trump ‘curious’ why Iran hasn’t capitulated despite military pressure
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 have 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, 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.”
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 regarding its nuclear program.
Iran, for its part, is seeking to negotiate an end to sanctions that have proven to be a massive drag on its economy.
