U.S. envoy says Trump questioning why Iran has not 'capitulated'

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff reveals Trump's curiosity over Iran's resistance amid military pressure and ongoing nuclear deal negotiations.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said on Saturday (February 21, 2026) that President Donald Trump is questioning why Iran has not "capitulated" in the face of Washington's military build-up aimed at pressuring them into a nuclear deal.

The United States and Iran this week resumed Oman-mediated talks in Geneva aimed at averting the possibility of military action, after Washington dispatched two aircraft carriers, jets and weaponry to the region to back its warnings.

In a Fox News interview with Mr. Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara, Mr. Witkoff said the President was "curious" about Iran's position after he had warned them of severe consequences in the event they failed to strike a 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," he said.

"Why, under this pressure, with the amount of seapower 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."

The U.S. envoy also confirmed in the interview that he had met with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah and a critic of the current authorities, who has not returned to the country since before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the monarchy.