President Donald Trump is questioning why Iran has failed to “capitulate” in the face of a significant American military buildup near its borders, the US president’s special envoy has revealed.
Steve Witkoff, the lead US negotiator in recent indirect talks with Tehran, told Fox News on Saturday that Trump remains “curious” about Iran’s stance after warning that military action remains on the table if a nuclear deal cannot be reached.
“I don’t want to use the word ‘frustrated’… because he understands he’s got 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,” Witkoff said.
“Why, under this sort of pressure, with the amount of sea power and naval power that we have over there, why haven’t they come to us and said, ‘We profess that we don’t want a weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do?'”
The comments come as the United States has been steadily building its military presence in the Middle East in recent weeks, with deployments including the world’s largest warship, the USS Gerald R Ford, and the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, along with destroyers, combat vessels and fighter jets.
Diplomatic window remains open
Despite the heightened tensions, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated Sunday that diplomacy could still prevail. He told CBS News negotiators were working on the elements of a potential deal “based on a win-win game.”
Araghchi revealed two days ago that Tehran was preparing “a draft of a possible agreement” to be handed to Witkoff in the coming days.
The diplomatic track received a boost Sunday when Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced that the next round of US-Iranian negotiations would take place in Geneva this Thursday. Oman mediated the previous indirect talks on February 17, which participants described as productive.
However, Trump struck a more ominous note Thursday, warning that the world would discover “over the next, probably, 10 days” whether diplomacy would succeed or military action would follow.
The US and its European allies maintain longstanding suspicions that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons capability, an allegation Tehran consistently denies.
Anti-government protests resurface
Inside Iran, the weekend saw the first significant anti-government protests since January’s deadly crackdown, which activists say killed thousands.
BBC Verify has confirmed footage showing demonstrators marching at Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology on Saturday, with scuffles later breaking out between protesters and government supporters. Similar demonstrations were reported at other universities in Tehran and Mashhad.
One verified video shows anti-government protesters raising the Lion and Sun flag — the symbol of pre-revolutionary Iran — while chanting “Javid Shah” (“long live the king”). Counter-protests were also filmed, with crowds burning US and Israeli flags.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) reports it has confirmed at least 7,015 deaths during the January crackdown, including 6,508 protesters and 226 children, with thousands more deaths under investigation.
Iranian authorities have offered a different accounting, stating last month that more than 3,100 people had died, though they maintain the majority were security personnel or bystanders attacked by what they describe as “rioters.”
Trump has previously voiced support for Iranian protesters, at one point promising that “help is on its way.”
