Trump envoy warns Iran using nuclear talks to buy time amid strike pause

Former Trump envoy Morgan Ortagus warned Wednesday that Iran could also be using ongoing nuclear negotiations to “buy time” as President Donald Trump pauses deliberate navy strikes and extends a fragile ceasefire to permit extra room for diplomacy.

Speaking with Fox News Digital after the Middle East Forum in Washington, Ortagus mentioned Iran has lengthy used drawn-out negotiations as a method to delay strain whereas preserving leverage.

“It’s the tactic of the regime to stall, to draw negotiations, to buy time,” Ortagus mentioned of Iran. “I would encourage the president not to fall into the trap that the Iranians like to do… which is to drag things out to buy time.”

Trump lately paused deliberate strikes and extended diplomatic talks with Iran Following strain from Gulf allies searching for extra time for negotiations, even because the administration continues urgent Iran over its nuclear program and regional proxy community.

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Ortagus, who served as State Department consultant throughout Trump’s first time period and later labored on Middle East negotiations throughout his second administration, argued the White House now has extra leverage than earlier administrations in coping with Iran.

Critics of previous Iran negotiations, together with many Trump administration officers, have lengthy argued Iran used diplomacy to extend talks whereas persevering with to advance points of its nuclear program. Trump withdrew from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018, calling it a “disastrous” settlement that failed to completely curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Ortagus mentioned she stays assured in Trump’s negotiating method and emphasised that the president finally has closing authority over any navy or diplomatic selections.

“I’m always hopeful in President Trump’s ability to give his negotiating team leverage,” Ortagus mentioned. “I think this negotiating team has more leverage in their negotiations with Iran than any negotiating teams that preceded them.”

Two armed members of Iran’s police particular forces stand behind a rustic flag positioned on an armored navy automobile throughout a pro-Government rally in downtown Tehran, Iran. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto through Getty Images)

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“The president has seriously degraded them in a way that no one has since the Islamic Republic’s founding,” she added.

Iranian officers have rejected calls for for “zero enrichment,” arguing Tehran has a sovereign proper to preserve a civilian nuclear program beneath worldwide legislation. Iranian leaders have additionally accused Washington of using navy threats to strain Tehran throughout negotiations.

Iran has lengthy maintained its nuclear program is meant for peaceable power functions, though Western governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency have raised issues about Iran’s uranium enrichment ranges and lack of transparency.

The Iranian embassy couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.

With the present Iran battle, some America First conservatives have warned the administration dangers deeper navy entanglement within the Middle East and argue US sources ought to as an alternative give attention to home priorities. Ortagus mentioned the present Iranian battle is totally different from “forever wars” within the Middle East in years previous.

“I think there’s an in-between,” she mentioned. “A very careful, thoughtful use of force when necessary, always preferring to negotiate… but also being willing to use American firepower if necessary.”

“I totally respect the office of the presidency and that he’s the one that has to make the final decisions on these,” she added.

She described the continuing Republican international coverage debate as “healthy,” arguing the social gathering is overtly wrestling with how aggressively the US ought to confront Iran and its regional proxies.

The Iranian negotiations because the US can also be attempting to stabilize the Israel-Lebanon entrance, the place Hezbollah and Israeli forces have continued exchanging strikes regardless of a US-brokered ceasefire extension reached throughout talks in Washington final week.

The talks are aimed toward stabilizing the Israel-Lebanon border and addressing Hezbollah’s armed presence in southern Lebanon.

Ortagus, who beforehand led Israel-Lebanon negotiations, framed Hezbollah’s function in Lebanon as a part of the broader problem posed by Iran’s regional proxy community, which she argued should be addressed alongside Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“The big dispute comes with Hezbollah, which is an Iranian proxy that has, of course, been a cancer to the state of Lebanon and has in many ways occupied that country,” Ortagus mentioned.

She argued the Lebanese and Israeli governments finally share an curiosity in avoiding a broader battle, however mentioned Hezbollah repeatedly undermines that risk by working independently of the Lebanese state.

A fireball rises from the positioning of an Israeli airstrike focusing on an space in Beirut’s southern suburbs in a single day on March 10 to 11, 2026. (Fadel itani / AFP through Getty Images)

“The Lebanese government didn’t decide,” she mentioned of the present battle. “Hezbollah decided for the country of Lebanon.”

Ortagus mentioned she believes Israel and Lebanon might ultimately transfer towards a extra secure relationship if Hezbollah’s affect had been diminished.

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“I actually think the goals for the Lebanese government and the Israeli government are very similar,” she mentioned.

“There’s not territorial claims from Israel into Lebanon,” Ortagus added. “The big dispute comes with Hezbollah.”

Her feedback echoed remarks delivered earlier within the night by Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, who mentioned Israel has “no territorial claims” in Lebanon and advised the nations might ultimately transfer towards broader normalization if Hezbollah had been faraway from the equation.

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But negotiations stay difficult by continued tensions alongside the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese officers have accused Israel of violating the ceasefire by means of ongoing military operations and troop presence in elements of southern Lebanon, whereas Israeli officers argue earlier agreements failed as a result of Hezbollah was allowed to rebuild and function close to the unchecked border.

“There’s nothing stopping normalization,” Leiter mentioned throughout his keynote deal with on the Middle East Forum. “It would all be fine, but Hezbollah is holding Lebanon hostage.”