Trump envoy says Iran reached out through back channels

Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Iran used indirect channels to respond after the US president sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei earlier this month.

“I’m not at liberty to talk about the specifics,” Witkoff said in an interview released Friday on The Tucker Carlson Show. “But clearly through a, you know, back channels, through multiple countries and multiple conduits, they've reached back out.”

According to Axios, Trump’s letter to Ali Khamenei, delivered via a senior Emirati diplomat, included a two-month deadline for reaching a new nuclear agreement and warned of consequences if Iran expanded its nuclear program. The letter was described by sources as “tough” in tone.

However, Witkoff presented the message differently during his interview. “It roughly said, I'm a president of peace. That's what I want. There's no reason for us to do this militarily,” he said. “We should talk. We should clear up the misconceptions. We should create a verification program so that nobody worries about weaponization of your nuclear material.”

He also said Trump believes the issue “has a real possibility of being solved diplomatically” and “acknowledged that he's open to an opportunity to clean it all up with Iran.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently affirmed that indirect talks through countries like Oman are “not a strange method,” and on Friday he held a phone call with his Emirati counterpart. No details were released about the conversation.

Witkoff added that Trump wants to build trust with Iran and would prefer to avoid war. “He’s a president who doesn’t want to go to war,” he said. “He’ll use military action to stop a war.”

Carlson, a longtime ally of Trump, warned earlier in the week that a military strike on Iran “would certainly result” in a broader conflict and “thousands of American deaths.” Iranian media highlighted both his remarks and Witkoff’s interview, portraying them as possible signs of a shifting tone in Washington.

Still, Iran’s official stance remains defiant. Khamenei has rejected direct talks under pressure and, in a speech on Friday, focused instead on deterrence. “Anyone who commits villainy against the Iranian people will be struck with a harsh slap,” he said.

At the US State Department, spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Friday that Washington remains committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and continues to rely on pressure. “Iran’s behavior, as we know, across the globe threatens US national interests,” she said, adding that the administration’s campaign of sanctions and diplomatic isolation has been very effective.