(MENAFN) Leader Donald Trump's representative for Middle Eastern affairs, Steve Witkoff, reaffirmed on Friday that halting uranium processing remains a non-negotiable "red line" for the United States.

"An enrichment program can never exist in the State of Iran ever again. And that's our red line: no enrichment. That means dismantlement, it means no weaponization," Witkoff declared in an interview with the media.

He stressed that Iran's three key nuclear facilities—Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan—must be taken apart.

Trump has signaled the possibility of military intervention against Iran if a new pact is not established to replace the 2015 nuclear accord crafted under former President Barack Obama. He has consistently stated that Iran "cannot have a nuclear weapon."

After a letter exchange in March between Trump and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the two nations engaged in indirect negotiations in Oman and Rome.

Although both sides acknowledged some advancement, fresh U.S. sanctions on seven entities linked to Iran’s petroleum trade—including four located in the United Arab Emirates and one in Turkey—have escalated the strain.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to social media to issue a stern caution to Iran, accusing the nation of providing "lethal support" to Yemen’s Houthi faction and warning of potential countermeasures.

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