In Iran Talks, U.S. Brings Tough Demands, Growing Military Presence

The latest round of talks over Iran’s nuclear program wrapped up Thursday without a deal and both sides still far apart on key issues, as the U.S. raised the pressure by presenting tough demands and sending more jets and warships to the region. In talks that went into the evening, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner said Iran must destroy its three main nuclear sites—at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan—and deliver all of its remaining enriched uranium to the U.S., officials said. They also said any nuclear deal must last forever—not sunset the way restrictions rolled off over time under a nuclear pact negotiated under the Obama administration that Republicans have long said was too weak. . . . Iran rejected the idea of transferring uranium stockpiles abroad. It also has objected to ending enrichment, dismantling its nuclear facilities and permanent restrictions on its program, Iranian state media and people familiar with the talks said. . . . “This may be the last chance to clinch a deal,” said [UANI Senior Advisor] Saeid Golkar, associate professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and an expert on Iran’s military. “Failing that, the U.S. will next sort out by military means what it can’t resolve through diplomacy.”