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The United States has issued a warning that high-level talks with Iran, scheduled for Sunday, could be the last round if no meaningful progress is achieved.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff stated that the talks, which will take place in Oman, must yield productive results or “they won’t continue,” adding that Washington will be compelled to “take a different route.”
Witkoff further emphasized that the US had postponed earlier discussions in order to establish key understandings with Iran, ensuring that any future talks would be substantive.
Hopefully, this Sunday will be productive, and that means continuing those talks,” he said.
According to sources familiar with the plans, only high-level officials will attend the talks. The technical negotiating teams — typically responsible for detailed discussions on issues like sanctions relief — will not be present. One source confirmed that the talks would involve both direct and indirect exchanges.
Witkoff articulated U.S. expectations more clearly than before, stating: “An enrichment program can never exist in Iran again. That’s our red line. No enrichment. That means dismantlement, no weaponization, and it means that Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan — Iran’s three enrichment facilities — must be dismantled.”
Iran has long maintained its right to enrich uranium. “Iran has every right to possess the full nuclear fuel cycle,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X last week. Araghchi is expected to meet with Witkoff during the Sunday talks.
Drawing a parallel to U.S. diplomacy with Russia, Witkoff suggested that incentives might be offered to Iran in exchange for nuclear compliance. “We’re inviting Iran to be a member of the international community,” he said. “We’re telling Iran: ‘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 confirmed that Iran reiterated its stance that it does not seek a nuclear weapon, a position Tehran has upheld for years.
The envoy clarified that the discussions will be strictly focused on the nuclear issue, separate from broader concerns about Iran’s regional behavior. “Do we think they need to stop enabling Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and pulling back from provocations? We do. But that’s a secondary discussion,” he said. “The nuclear issue is the existential one — it must be addressed now, and it must be solved quickly.”
