The Trump administration is reportedly holding behind-the-scenes talks with Iranian officials, floating potential incentives to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table for renewed nuclear discussions, according to a new report by CNN.
Despite President Donald Trump’s recent order to strike three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites over the weekend, sources say U.S. officials—led by special envoy Steve Witkoff—have been pursuing diplomatic backchannels to restart dialogue.
According to four sources familiar with the matter, the U.S. has proposed several creative options, including a potential investment of $20 to $30 billion in a civilian, non-enrichment nuclear program in Iran. Additionally, there is talk of easing select sanctions to allow Iran access to approximately $6 billion currently frozen in foreign bank accounts.
“The U.S. is willing to lead these talks,” one Trump administration official told CNN. “And someone is going to need to pay for the nuclear program to be built, but we will not make that commitment.” Two sources revealed that the Trump administration has suggested that Gulf allies aligned with Washington could help finance the construction of a civilian facility to replace Iran’s recently bombed Fordow enrichment site.
“There are a lot of ideas being thrown around by different people, and a lot of them are trying to be creative,” one source told CNN, adding that the outcome remains highly uncertain. President Trump, speaking at the NATO Summit on Wednesday, downplayed the need for a formal agreement, even as he acknowledged that direct talks with Iran are expected next week, though no date has been finalized.
“We may sign an agreement, I don’t know,” Trump told reporters. “They had a war, they fought, now they’re going back to their world. I don’t care if I have an agreement or not.” Earlier attempts to hold face-to-face meetings between U.S. and Iranian officials in Oman were canceled after Israel conducted airstrikes on Iranian targets, complicating the already fragile diplomatic landscape.
Still, Witkoff expressed optimism about the direction of the talks during a CNBC interview on Wednesday. “Now the issue and the conversation with Iran is going to be, how do we rebuild a better civil nuclear program for you that is non-enrichable?” he said, reaffirming the administration’s commitment to a “comprehensive peace agreement.”
While the public focus remains on the military tension, these covert diplomatic efforts suggest that the Trump administration is still pursuing a multifaceted strategy to manage the long-standing conflict with Iran.