Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times,
Talks between the United States and Iran resumed one day after Iran and Israel reached a Washington-brokered cease-fire agreement, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said on June 24, describing the discussions as promising.
Witkoff made the comments in an interview on Fox News after Trump announced on June 23 that a cease-fire deal had been reached to end 12 days of fighting.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Iran would first stop its attacks for 12 hours, after which Israel would stop its attacks. After 24 hours, there would be an official end to the war, he said.
Both Iran and Israel accused each other of violating the truce shortly after it was announced.
Despite those early violations, the cease-fire appeared to be holding up as of June 24, and Witkoff told Fox News that the Trump administration is hopeful of a long-term peace deal.
“With regard to the Iranians, the president has said unequivocally, that he wants to see and is hopeful for a comprehensive peace agreement that goes beyond even the cease-fire. We are already talking to each other, not just directly but also through interlocutors. I think that the conversations are promising,” Witkoff said.
“We are hopeful that we can have a long-term peace agreement that resurrects Iran, that brings it into the league of nations, that creates long-term prosperity for Iran, and most importantly, allows for the GCC to grow economically,” he said, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Iran is not a member.
Witkoff said now is the time to sit down with the Iranians and “get to a comprehensive peace agreement,” adding, “I am very confident that we are going to achieve that.”
Witkoff’s comments come after Israel launched an air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as part of what it said were efforts to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
A satellite view shows an overview of the Fordow underground complex, after the United States struck the nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran, on June 22, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters
Tehran, which has repeatedly said its uranium enrichment program is peaceful, retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities.
In announcing the cease-fire agreement, Trump said the war between the U.S. ally and its regional rival “could have gone on for years,” and “destroyed the entire Middle East” but that “it didn’t, and never will!”
He said both nations had agreed to remain peaceful and respectful during the ceasefire, and that, assuming everything works out as it should, the “12-day war” would come to an end.
Witkoff reiterated Trump’s comments to Fox News, declaring the conflict over.
“Since this conflict began, we’ve been talking to [Iran] about having some sort of peaceful settlement, and Iran’s one caveat has always been that Israel had to stop its campaign,” Witkoff said.
“And once Israel fulfilled its objective, which they did, and once the United States fulfilled its objective, which it did … the president was able to go to both parties and get a cease-fire done. And by the way, the proof is in the pudding. No one’s shooting at each other. It’s over.”
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