By In a revealing account of the diplomacy that preceded the latest escalation in the Middle East, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said Iranian negotiators openly boasted during recent talks that their country possesses enough highly enriched uranium to produce 11 nuclear weapons.
Speaking in a Fox News interview on Monday, Witkoff described discussions in which Iranian officials laid out their nuclear capabilities with striking candor. The envoy, who participated in the talks alongside Jared Kushner, said the Iranian delegation opened negotiations by asserting what they called their “inalienable right to enrich all their nuclear fuel.”
BREAKING: Steve Witkoff just dropped a massive bombshell.
“In that first meeting, the Iranian negotiators said to us, with no shame, they controlled 460 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium and they're aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs.” pic.twitter.com/AiCsTqwK3E
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) March 3, 2026
According to Witkoff, Iranian representatives went further—stating openly, “with, you know, no shame,” that they controlled 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity. At that level, the material is only a short step from weapons-grade enrichment, and Iranian negotiators acknowledged it “could make 11 nuclear bombs.” Witkoff said the disclosure effectively set the tone for the negotiations and formed the core of Tehran’s bargaining position, according to The New York Post.
The indirect talks were mediated by Oman and unfolded over three rounds beginning February 6 in Oman and ending February 26 in Geneva, Switzerland. Witkoff described the atmosphere as tense from the outset, recalling that he and Kushner were left “flummoxed” by the posture of the Iranian delegation.
He said he responded bluntly, telling the negotiators that President Donald Trump believed the United States had the “inalienable right to stop you dead in your tracks.”
Witkoff also offered a detailed picture of Iran’s nuclear inventory, which he said totals roughly 10,000 kilograms of fissionable material. Of that stockpile, about 460 kilograms is enriched to 60 percent and another 1,000 kilograms is enriched to 20 percent.
The difference between those levels, while seemingly incremental, is crucial. Witkoff explained that the 60 percent material could be refined to weapons-grade uranium—generally defined as about 90 percent enrichment—in roughly one week to 10 days. The 20 percent material, he said, could reach weapons-grade levels in three to four weeks.
Complicating matters further, Witkoff noted that Iran manufactures its own centrifuges, allowing it to sustain and expand its enrichment program without relying on foreign suppliers.
“They were proud of it,” Witkoff said of the Iranian negotiators. “They were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs.”
During the negotiations, the U.S. delegation proposed a potential compromise: Washington would supply Iran with nuclear fuel for civilian purposes for the next decade if Tehran agreed to abandon any weapons program and cease enrichment activities capable of producing weapons-grade material.
Iran rejected the proposal, a response Witkoff said reinforced the U.S. conclusion that the regime had no intention of relinquishing its path to weaponization.
Beyond the nuclear issue, the talks also attempted to address a broader set of American demands. These included dismantling Iran’s ballistic missile program, ending support for regional proxy groups that destabilize the Middle East, reducing naval capabilities used to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and prohibiting any enrichment activities that could lead to a nuclear bomb.
According to Witkoff, Iranian negotiators approached the discussions with an air of confidence that bordered on confrontation. He said the delegation appeared to be attempting to “strong-arm” the United States, dismissing their posture as “silly” but reflective of what he described as Iranian overconfidence.
By the end of the second round of talks, Witkoff said it had become increasingly clear that a diplomatic breakthrough was unlikely. A third meeting in Geneva was nevertheless held as a final attempt to salvage negotiations.
“It was not positive, that meeting,” he said.
The collapse of those talks preceded the military confrontation now unfolding in the region. The United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran in an operation known as Operation Epic Fury, now in its fourth day.
Witkoff’s account offered a rare glimpse into the final diplomatic effort before the conflict erupted—one that, according to the envoy, revealed both the scale of Iran’s nuclear progress and the widening gulf between the two sides, and also one that showed Trump had little choice but to act, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently explained.
MARCO RUBIO'S FULL PRESSER: This is bombshell press conference that @marcorubio just held after meeting with the Gang of Eight, and it just sent a clear message to the ENTIRE WORLD:
If you threaten America, there will be SEVERE PUNISHMENTS.
This entire thing is DEFINITELY… pic.twitter.com/l3kk626DEn
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 2, 2026
[Read More: George Will Shocks Friends, Backs Trump]
