The United States special envoy, Steve Witkoff, assured that the main negotiators of the Iranian regimeopenly presumed that they had enough highly enriched uranium to make up to 11 nuclear bombs.
In an interview with Fox News, Witkoff recalled that in the first round of negotiations, earlier this year, Iranian representatives “shamelessly” stated that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, a level close to weapons grade.
“Both Iranian negotiators told us directly that they knew that amount could be converted into 11 nuclear bombs,” the US official said.
Pride in evading international controls
According to Witkoff, the representatives of Tehran were even proud to have evaded international oversight mechanisms to advance their nuclear program. “They were proud to have evaded all kinds of control protocols to reach a point where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs,” he said.
The official also reiterated that the stock of highly enriched uranium could be transformed into material suitable for weapons within a week or ten days, although he clarified that this would require operational nuclear facilities. Washington states that those facilities were destroyed in previous attacks
. Image 1369518
Donald Trump Witkoff's firm stance indicated that President Donald Trump
sent him along with Jared Kushner to try to reach a comprehensive agreement with Iran. The proposal included the elimination of the missile program, the cessation of support for proxy groups in the region, the dismantling of their naval capacity and the end of uranium enrichment
.
During the first meeting, Iranian negotiators defended what they described as an “inalienable right” to enrich nuclear fuel. The American response was overwhelming: according to Witkoff, the delegation replied that the president considered that the United States had the “inalienable right”
to stop this advance. Image 1369519
Negotiations without progress
The special envoy stated that Washington tried to reach a “just” agreement, but that already towards the end of the second meeting it became clear that it would be extremely difficult. Even so, there was a third meeting to exhaust all diplomatic instances
.
“Iran wanted us to report that the meeting had been positive. It was not positive,” Witkoff concluded, highlighting the distance between positions and reinforcing international concern about the advance of the Iranian nuclear program
