Witkoff suggests US prefers to resolve Iran tensions with diplomacy, not military action

HOLLYWOOD, Florida — US special envoy Steve Witkoff suggests that the Trump administration prefers a diplomatic resolution, rather than a military one, to the ongoing tensions with Iran.

Asked in an onstage interview at the Israeli-American Council conference in Florida if he thinks a US military strike against Iran is likely, Witkoff responds, “I hope there’s a diplomatic resolution. I really do.”

The US envoy says a diplomatic agreement with Iran would address four issues: “(1) nuclear enrichment, (2) missiles — they have to cut back on their inventory; (3) the actual [nuclear] material that they have, which is roughly 2000 kilograms enriched anywhere between 3.67% and 60%; and (4) the proxies.

Witkoff suggests that Iran may be willing to compromise on all four issues because its economy is in such dire straits.

“If they want to come back to the League of Nations, we can solve those four problems diplomatically, then that would be a great resolution. The alternative is a bad one,” he says.

Asked if he has a message to the people of Iran who want the regime to fall, Witkoff responds, “They’re incredibly courageous people, and we stand with you.”

Trump threatened repeatedly to strike Iran if the regime killed protesters, something it did to the tune of several thousands.

But on Wednesday, Trump announced that Tehran had notified him that the killing of protesters had stopped, leading to speculation that Washington would not strike Iran. In the past day, though, the US has been shifting additional military assets to the region.

“We communicated with the Iranians yesterday, and one of the things we were concerned about were the killers that were rumored to be on the way — mass hangings, and that’s been shut down,” Witkoff says.