TEHRAN -- The managing director of the Kayhan Group of Newspapers has sharply criticized the U.S. for failing its initial “truth test” by violating established red lines following the first round of indirect nuclear negotiations on Saturday in Oman.
In a scathing editorial published on Wednesday, Hussein Shariatmadari said recent remarks by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff prove that Washington remains committed to “extortionate demands” despite diplomatic overtures.
Witkoff said on Tuesday that Tehran ‘must stop and eliminate’ its nuclear enrichment program to reach a deal with Washington, raising the bar in U.S. demands ahead of the next round of talks on Saturday.
The comments came hours after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei cautioned against both excessive optimism and pessimism about the talks, Shariatmadari pointed out.
“Witkoff’s statements leave no doubt America has already failed its first test,” wrote Shariatmadari.
The editorial cited former U.S. intelligence official George Friedman admitting that Washington’s true objection is Iran’s independent regional power projection.
Shariatmadari said the U.S. continues to make the demands about Iran’s uranium enrichment despite Tehran’s repeated declarations that the matter is “non-negotiable” under religious edicts.