File Photo: US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks during the FII Priority Summit in Miami Beach, Florida. AFP
Trump, who will visit three other Gulf Arab monarchies next week, has voiced hope for reaching a deal with Tehran as Israel threaten to launch yet another military attack on Iran's nuclear program that could ignite a wider war.
Three previous rounds of talks in Oman and Rome ended with notes of optimism, with the two sides saying the atmosphere was friendly despite the countries' four decades of enmity.
But they are not believed to have gone into technical detail, and basic questions remain.
Witkoff, Trump's friend and special envoy to the Middle East, had initially suggested flexibility on Tehran maintaining low-level enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes.
But in an interview published Friday, Witkoff gave his clearest message yet that the Trump administration would oppose any enrichment.
"An enrichment program can never exist in the state of Iran ever again. That's our red line. No enrichment," he told right-wing Breitbart News.
"That means dismantlement, it means no weaponization, and it means that Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan -- those are their three enrichment facilities -- have to be dismantled," he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier raised the possibility of Iran importing enriched uranium for any civilian energy.
Trump in his first term withdrew from a nuclear agreement with Tehran negotiated by former president Barack Obama that allowed Iran to enrich uranium at levels well below what is needed for weapons.
Many Iran watchers doubt that Iran would ever voluntarily dismantle its entire nuclear program and give up all enrichment.
'Blow 'em up nicely'
Trump himself has acknowledged tensions in his policy on Iran, saying at the start of his second term that hawkish advisors were pushing him to step up pressure reluctantly.
In an interview Thursday, Trump said he wanted "total verification" that Iran's nuclear work is shut down but through diplomacy.
"I'd much rather make a deal" than see military action, Trump told the conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.
"There are only two alternatives -- blow 'em up nicely or blow 'em up viciously," Trump said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Oman, which has been mediating, had proposed Sunday as the date and both sides had accepted.
"Negotiations are moving ahead and naturally, the more we advance, the more consultations we have, and the more time the delegations need to examine the issues," he said in a video carried by Iranian media.
"But what's important is that we are moving forward so that we gradually get into the details," Araghchi said.
Araghchi has earlier accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to drag the United States into "disaster" in the Middle East, warning against any attempt to attack Iran.
The Trump administration has kept piling on sanctions despite the talks, angering Iran. On Thursday, the United States imposed sanctions on another refinery in China, the main market for Iranian oil.
Since Trump's withdrawal from the Obama-era deal, the United States has used its power to try to stop all other countries from buying Iranian oil.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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