Washington's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has said US President Donald Trump has questioned why Tehran has not "capitulated" in the face of a massive buildup of the US military near Iran.
In a Fox News interview recorded on February 19 and broadcast on February 22, Witkoff said Trump was "curious" about Iran's position after he had issued warnings of a military attack should the country's leaders fail to agree to a new nuclear deal.
"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," Witkoff said.
"Why, under this pressure, with the amount of sea power 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."
Trump dispatched two aircraft carrier strike groups, with dozens of fighter jets and bombers to the region, and other military planes and supporting forces have been spotted flying into air bases in the Middle East.
The US administration has been pressuring Iran to agree to curtail its nuclear program, which Tehran insists is intended for peaceful, civilian purposes, such as electricity generation. Washington, along with Israel and others in the West, has accused Tehran of intending to build atomic weapons.
Iran in 2015 agreed to a landmark nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon in return for an easing of economic sanctions.
SEE ALSO: Iran, Pressured At Home And Abroad, Looks Set For Third Round Of US TalksHowever, it started rolling back its commitments after Trump, during his first term, withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
A new round of US-Iran talks is expected to take place on February 26, following talks in Geneva last week.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, whose country has hosted previous rounds of talks, said on February 22 that talks would resume "with a positive push to go the extra mile toward finalizing the deal" over Iran’s nuclear program.
SEE ALSO: Diplomacy Or Conflict? US-Iran Crisis Now '50-50,' Experts SayTehran has said it was in the process of drafting a proposal for an agreement that would avert military action.
"I believe that when we meet, probably [February 26] in Geneva again, we can work on those elements and prepare a good text and come to a fast deal," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told CBS-TV on February 22.
At home, the Iranian government in recent months has seen a growing opposition. At least 7,000 people were killed during nationwide protests that erupted in late December 2025, according to human rights groups, although the real death toll is believed to be significantly higher.
Further demonstrations broke out at universities in recent days, with reports of new protests also emerging on February 23.