U.S. Center East envoy Steve Witkoff at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 18, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
U.S. Particular Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to fulfill Iranian Overseas Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Sunday and talk about Iran’s response to a current American proposal for a nuclear deal, a U.S. official mentioned late on Wednesday.
Iran mentioned on Monday it will quickly hand a counter-proposal for a nuclear deal to the US in response to a U.S. provide that Tehran deems “unacceptable,” whereas U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned talks would proceed.
Trump informed a podcast on Monday he was much less assured that Iran will conform to cease uranium enrichment in a nuclear cope with Washington.
Trump has been looking for a brand new nuclear deal to position limits on Iran’s disputed uranium enrichment actions and has threatened the Islamic Republic with bombing if no settlement is reached.
Iran has lengthy mentioned it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons and is just thinking about atomic energy technology and different peaceable tasks.
Throughout his first White Home time period, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that positioned limits on Tehran’s uranium enrichment drive in alternate for reduction from worldwide sanctions.
Uneasy relations between Iran and the U.S. return a long time. Tehran says Washington has interfered in its affairs, citing occasions starting from a 1953 coup towards a first-rate minister to the 2020 killing of its army commander in a U.S. drone strike.
Washington cites Iran’s backing of militant teams within the Center East together with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen to say that Iran poses a risk to U.S. ally Israel and Washington’s pursuits within the area.
The militant teams describe themselves because the “Axis of Resistance” to Israeli and U.S. affect within the Center East.
Trump mentioned on Wednesday U.S. personnel had been being moved out of the Center East as a result of “it could possibly be a harmful place.”
The choice by the U.S. to evacuate some personnel comes at a risky second within the area. Trump’s efforts to achieve a nuclear cope with Iran seem like deadlocked and U.S. intelligence signifies that Israel has been making preparations for a strike towards Iran’s nuclear amenities.