The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump backed away Tuesday from comments by its top Middle East envoy that the U.S. will focus on restricting Iran¡¯s uranium enrichment and missile capability rather than dismantling its entire nuclear program.
¡°This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization,¡± the envoy, Steve Witkoff, told Fox News Monday, adding that Iran must not have the ability to enrich uranium to a purity beyond 3.67%. ¡°Verification will be the key point which undergirds this agreement. We are going to have very tight verification.¡±
Witkoff¡¯s suggestion that the U.S. was ready to accept some enrichment would mark a significant diplomatic step. It goes against U.S. and Israeli hard-liners ¡ª who want to dismantle Iran¡¯s entire nuclear program ¡ª while reducing the urgency to restore United Nations Security Council sanctions, which demand that Iran suspend all enrichment-related activities.
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