Trump’s remarks followed the latest Omani-mediated meetings between U.S. and Iranian representatives, which ended Thursday without an agreement on enrichment limits, inspections and sanctions relief. In comments reported by Reuters, Trump said Iranian negotiators would not explicitly rule out a nuclear weapon — a point he framed as central to any deal.
Iran has long denied it is pursuing a bomb and says it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, while insisting any agreement must include meaningful relief from U.S. sanctions.
Iran nuclear talks: where negotiations stand
The Iran nuclear talks have proceeded indirectly, with Oman shuttling messages between delegations. Reuters and the AP said U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were involved in the Geneva round, and technical discussions are expected to continue in Vienna next week.
With both sides holding firm publicly, the immediate sticking points in the Iran nuclear talks include:
- Enrichment: Trump has said Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium, while Iran says enrichment for peaceful purposes is its right.
- Stockpiles: Mediators have floated options for Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, including limits on accumulation and outside verification.
- Inspections: The U.N. nuclear watchdog says it needs access and monitoring to verify Iran’s activities.
- Sanctions relief: Iran says it wants major sanctions lifted in exchange for nuclear limits.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who has mediated the Iran nuclear talks and briefed Vice President JD Vance on Friday, urged Washington to give negotiators space and said a deal was “within our reach,” according to accounts of his public remarks.
Military option and regional precautions
Trump’s warning came as the United States kept a large military force in the region, including two aircraft carrier groups, while officials weighed how quickly diplomacy could deliver results. The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem authorized the voluntary departure of some personnel and family members, and that the move signaled heightened concern about escalation. Read the AP’s account.
Separately, a confidential International Atomic Energy Agency assessment said the watchdog could not verify Iran’s current enrichment status or fully account for its enriched uranium stockpile after last year’s Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iranian sites. A Reuters report on the IAEA findings said the agency called inspections “indispensable and urgent” and raised questions about storage and access at key locations.
Rubio adds pressure as diplomacy continues
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday designated Iran a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” accusing Tehran of using foreign detainees as leverage. The State Department said the label is meant to raise costs on Iran while talks continue: see the State Department statement.
Rubio is also scheduled to travel to Israel March 2-3 for meetings focused in part on Iran, the department said in its trip announcement.
How the Iran nuclear talks reached this point
The current Iran nuclear talks come more than a decade after world powers and Iran reached the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which traded nuclear limits for sanctions relief. The U.S. State Department’s archived material on the deal is available here.
Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA in 2018 and restored sanctions — a step that reshaped Iran’s economy and the diplomatic landscape, as Reuters reported at the time.
Attempts to revive the deal resurfaced in Vienna in 2021, but repeatedly stalled amid disagreements over sequencing, sanctions and Iran’s expanding nuclear activities. The Arms Control Association summarized those efforts in a May 2021 analysis.
What to watch next
U.S. and Iranian negotiators are expected to keep working through Oman, with a technical round in Vienna next week and the IAEA seeking renewed access. The next few days will test whether the Iran nuclear talks can narrow gaps on enrichment, inspection authority and sanctions — or whether the administration turns to military action.
