U.S. negotiations with Iran broke down after Tehran’s negotiators openly stated their intention to enrich uranium to levels suitable for producing nuclear weapons, according to Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy.
Witkoff recounted that the American delegation was taken aback by this declaration, causing him and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to exchange uneasy glances as the Iranian officials clarified their stance.
“The Iranians made it clear from the start that they believe they have an undeniable right to enrich all the uranium they possess,” Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News. “That was how they opened the talks.”
U.S. negotiators immediately pushed back, with Witkoff stating that Washington believed it had the right to completely shut down Iran’s enrichment activities. Instead of backing down, Iranian officials reinforced their position.
“Jared and I just looked at each other and thought, ‘Is this really happening?’” Witkoff said.
The breakdown became inevitable when Tehran rejected a U.S. proposal that would have frozen enrichment for a decade. Under the plan, the United States offered to supply Iran with nuclear fuel at its expense.
“That was the moment we understood they had no intention of doing anything other than enriching uranium for nuclear weapons,” Witkoff said.
Iranian negotiators acknowledged the size of their nuclear stockpile during the discussions, Witkoff said. Two officials confirmed that they possessed approximately 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent.
Witkoff noted that the Iranians acknowledged the potential conversion of this material into as many as 11 nuclear bombs.
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“They weren’t hiding it. They were proud,” he said, noting further that Iranian negotiators also boasted about being able to evade international monitoring systems as the country was enlarging its stockpile.
Tensions escalated sharply during a meeting last Thursday in Geneva when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shouted after the American delegation reiterated its demand for a ten-year halt to enrichment, according to NBC News.
Witkoff said he responded calmly to the outburst. “If you prefer, I can leave,” he told Araghchi.
Following the collapse of the talks, the U.S. team provided President Trump with an update on the situation. A senior administration official indicated that the president was taken aback by the Iranian delegation’s candid insistence on enrichment. Witkoff noted that the negotiations demonstrated Tehran’s lack of interest in reaching a meaningful compromise.
“President Trump sent us to see if Iran was serious,” he said. “But by the second meeting, it was clear a deal was impossible. We came to the third meeting in good faith, and they wanted us to project optimism. There was nothing optimistic about it.”
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is doubling down on his message that there is “no chance” the United States will become entangled in a prolonged Middle East war if President Donald Trump authorizes additional military action against Iran.
Speaking aboard Air Force Two on Thursday, Vance stressed that the White House is not contemplating a protracted “nation-building” scenario in Iran with thousands of U.S. military “boots on the ground.”
“The idea that we’re going to be in a Middle Eastern war for years with no end in sight—there is no chance that will happen,” Vance told The Washington Post.
The United States has long maintained that enrichment inside Iran presents a potential pathway to nuclear weapons capability and has stated unequivocally that Tehran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
On social media following an appearance on “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Monday, Vance reiterated the administration’s position.
“President Trump will not get the United States into a years-long conflict with no clear objective,” Vance wrote. “Iran can never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. That is the goal of this operation, and President Trump will see it through to completion.”
