Trump Envoy Claims Secret Iran Talks Are Underway Amid Nuclear Tensions

According to Saed News, Steven Witkoff, Donald Trump’s representative for West Asian affairs, has claimed that the United States is currently engaged in both direct and mediated talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran aimed at restarting negotiations over its nuclear programme. In an interview with Fox News, Witkoff described the preliminary contacts as “hopeful” and asserted that “now is the time to sit down with the Iranians and reach a peaceful and comprehensive agreement.”

Witkoff's remarks, however, arrive at a moment of acute strategic dissonance. While he exuded optimism, reiterating Washington’s long-standing position that “no uranium enrichment will be permitted under any agreement,” his assessment diverged markedly from U.S. intelligence estimates. He went so far as to claim that reviving Iran’s nuclear programme would be “virtually impossible” and could take “years” — an assertion that appears to contradict the classified evaluations of America’s own defense apparatus.

Indeed, just one day prior to Witkoff’s interview, CNN revealed that an internal assessment by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency concluded the recent American airstrikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend failed to inflict critical damage. According to unreleased analysis conducted by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the strikes only temporarily delayed Iran’s nuclear programme by a matter of months — a far cry from the dismantlement suggested by Witkoff.

The leak of this classified assessment reportedly infuriated Trump and his political circle, who view the report’s publication as both a strategic embarrassment and a potential obstacle to reasserting pressure on Tehran.

Witkoff’s comments raise more questions than they answer: Are these talks sanctioned by formal U.S. policy, or are they political theatre in anticipation of the November election? In either case, the fragile chessboard of U.S.-Iran relations appears once again in motion — with claims, counterclaims, and denials likely to follow in rapid succession.