Tensions over Iran’s nuclear ambitions have flared once again, as the United States reaffirmed an uncompromising stance on uranium enrichment in any future nuclear agreement. In a recent interview with ABC News, Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, declared that the United States would not accept a deal allowing Iran even minimal uranium enrichment – a position Tehran has swiftly condemned as detached from diplomatic reality.

“We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability,” Witkoff said on May 18. “Enrichment enables weaponization. And we will not allow a bomb to get here.” His comments represent a clear escalation in rhetoric at a time when indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran have seen sporadic attempts at revival, primarily mediated through regional players like Oman and Qatar.

Witkoff’s statement marks a definitive red line: the total dismantlement of Iran’s enrichment infrastructure. This would go far beyond the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which permitted Iran limited enrichment of uranium – capped at 3.67% purity – under strict international oversight. The Trump administration, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, argues that the original agreement was fundamentally flawed, enabling Iran to bide its time before ultimately developing nuclear weapons capabilities.

Iran was quick to respond. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the US demand as “unrealistic” and warned that Tehran would continue its enrichment activities with or without Washington’s consent.

“Iran will not accept dictates from a country that unilaterally........

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