The United States has issued a warning that Sunday’s high-level talks with Iran could mark the end of nuclear negotiations if no significant progress is achieved.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, speaking ahead of the meeting set to take place in Oman, stressed that the discussions must be productive or “they won’t continue,” and the US would be compelled to “take a different route.”
Witkoff explained that earlier talks had been delayed intentionally to allow time for key groundwork with Iran, aiming to make future engagements more substantive. “Hopefully this Sunday they will be productive. Hopefully that means they will continue those talks,” he added.
Sources familiar with the matter said the talks will involve only top-level officials. Technical teams, who typically handle the specifics of sanctions relief and enrichment limits, will not be present. The exchanges will include both direct and indirect communications.
Witkoff also made the US stance clear: “An enrichment program can never exist in the state of Iran ever again. That’s our red line. No enrichment. That means dismantlement, it means no weaponization, and it means that Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan — those are their three enrichment facilities — have to be dismantled.”
Iran, however, continues to assert its right to enrich uranium. “Iran has every right to possess the full nuclear fuel cycle,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X last week. He is expected to meet Witkoff at Sunday’s talks.
Drawing comparisons to past diplomacy with Russia, Witkoff hinted that the US might offer incentives if Iran complies with nuclear restrictions. “We’re inviting Iran to be a member of the league of nations,” he said. “You can be a better nation. We can do business with you. We can have strategic relationships with you. But you can’t be a provocateur.”
Witkoff also noted that Iran reaffirmed its long-standing position that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons.
He concluded by clarifying that the talks are focused solely on the nuclear issue and are separate from concerns about Iran’s regional activities. “Do we think they need to stop enabling Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and pulling back from being a provocateur? We do. But that’s a secondary discussion,” he said. “The nuclear issue is the existential one — it must be solved now, and it must be solved quickly.”
