Trump curious why Iran has not 'capitulated', US envoy Witkoff says

BBC World · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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17 minutes agoJaroslav LukivReutersThe US has been building up its military presence near Iran in recent weeksUS President Donald Trump is questioning why Iran has not yet "capitulated" in the face of Washington's military build-up in the Middle East, the US president's special envoy Steve Witkoff has said.Witkoff told Fox News on Saturday that Trump was "curious" about Iran's position after he had warned of a limited military strike if a deal was not reached on Tehran's nuclear programme.The US and its European allies suspect Iran of moving towards making a nuclear weapon, which it denies. Within Iran, anti-government protests were staged at several universities over the weekend - the first rallies on such a scale since January's deadly crackdown by the authorities, which saw thousands killed. In his interview with Fox News, Witkoff said: "I don't want to use the word 'frustrated'... because he understands he's got 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.""Why, under this sort of pressure, with the amount of seapower and naval power that we have over there, why haven't they come to us and said, 'We profess that we don't want a weapon, so here's what we're prepared to do?'""And yet it's hard to sort of get them to that place," Trump's envoy added.Getty ImagesSteve Witkoff was the lead US negotiator during indirect talks with Iran in Switzerland on TuesdayIran has not publicly commented on Witkoff's remarks.Last Tuesday, US and Iranian officials held indirect talks in Switzerland aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme, saying progress had been made.Despite this, Trump said two days later the world would find out "over the next, probably, 10 days" whether a deal with Iran would be reached or the US would take military action.In recent weeks, the US has been building up its military presence near Iran.The deployment includes the world's largest warship, USS Gerald R Ford, appearing to be heading towards the region.USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has also been deployed, along with destroyers, combat ships and fighter jets.Scuffles break out at Sharif University in Tehran on SaturdayIn Iran, the BBC has verified footage of demonstrators marching on the campus of the Sharif University of Technology in the capital Tehran on Saturday. They were later seen scuffling with government supporters.Protests were also reported at other universities in Tehran and elsewhere - with students gathering to honour thousands of those killed by authorities last month.The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) said it had confirmed the killing of at least 7,015 people during that wave, including 6,508 protesters, 226 children and 214 people affiliated with the government. The latest figures were updated on 15 February.Hrana also said it was investigating 11,744 more reported deaths.Iranian authorities said late last month that more than 3,100 people had been killed - but that the majority were security personnel or bystanders attacked by "rioters".