Tehran has rejected US and Israeli demands for a nuclear deal, and has vowed to strike hard against Washington’s assets in the region if it is attacked
News Desk - The Cradle
“I don’t want to use the word ‘frustrated,’ because he understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious as to why they haven’t … I don’t want to use the word ‘capitulated,’ but why they haven’t capitulated,” the envoy said in an interview with Fox News.
“Why, under this pressure, with the amount of seapower and naval power over there, why haven’t they come to us and said, ‘We profess we don’t want a weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do’? And yet it’s sort of hard to get them to that place,” he went on to say. His comments contradict US intelligence reports, which say Tehran is not seeking to weaponize its nuclear program.
Witkoff confirmed he met with Reza Pahlavi, the Israeli-backed son of the Iranian Shah who was deposed by the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
“I met him at the direction of the president,” Witkoff explained.
“I think he’s strong for his country, cares about his country. But this is going to be about President Trump’s policies,” he added.
The US-based, exiled son of the western-backed dictator, who hasn’t been in Iran in decades, recently said he was ready to lead a “secular democratic future.”
This followed recent statements by Trump signaling he is seeking regime change in Iran. The US president said on Thursday that he is giving Iran a 10-to-15-day deadline to agree to his terms.
The US, reinforced by Israel, is demanding a complete dismantlement of the Iranian nuclear program and an end to its ballistic missile program. Washington and Tel Aviv are also seeking to force Iran into ending all support for resistance groups such as Hezbollah and Ansarallah, among others.
Iran has rejected this and is only willing to discuss its nuclear program. It has also demanded that it maintain the right to enrich uranium at some level.
Two USS aircraft carriers have been deployed, along with additional squadrons of fighter jets and electronic warfare aircraft.
The deployments have been described as the largest air power build-up since the Iraq invasion, and come after continuous US threats.
Tehran has vowed that it will strike Israel and US military bases across the region if Washington decides to bomb. The Iranian UN mission warned in a letter on Thursday that US bases will be “legitimate targets” if Washington attacks.
“Iran has repeatedly stated at the highest level that it neither seeks tension nor war and will not initiate any war. However, in the event that it is subjected to military aggression, Iran will respond decisively and proportionately in the exercise of its inherent right of self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter of the UN,” said Iranian representative Saeed Iravani.
“In such circumstances, all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile force in the region would constitute legitimate targets in the context of Iran's defensive response. The US would bear full and direct responsibility for any unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences,” he added, addressing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of the UN Security Council James Kariuki.
Hundreds of US troops have been evacuated from military bases in Bahrain and Qatar in what officials described as a “precautionary move” amid preparations for a US strike on Iran, the New York Times (NYT) reported on 21 February, citing anonymous Pentagon sources.
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