U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff disclosed Tuesday that there was no evidence Iran was prepared to make concessions during negotiations with the United States prior to military action against its nuclear infrastructure.
Witkoff, who led the U.S. negotiating team, stated Iranian officials repeatedly claimed they were willing to compromise but never demonstrated tangible progress in talks.
“They claim that they were ready to make concessions,” Witkoff said. “But there was no palpable evidence of it.”
From the outset, Witkoff noted that Iranian negotiators took a hard line, asserting they had the right to enrich uranium.
“They actually opened up that they had the inalienable right to enrich,” he said. “And our response was somewhat along the lines of, President Donald Trump views it that we have the inalienable right to stop you from enriching.”
The U.S., Witkoff explained, attempted to offer Iran an alternate path for civilian nuclear energy without enrichment.
“We said to them, ‘We’d like to see you not enriching, and we’d be prepared to give you free fuel for at least 10 years, perhaps longer,'” he stated.
Iran’s response was dismissive: “We don’t need you to do that for us.”
Witkoff indicated the refusal suggests Tehran is determined to retain enrichment capabilities potentially linked to weapons development.
“If you’re intent on enriching, if you’re intent on stockpiling, if you’re intent on getting toward a weapon, then what you can’t do is take fuel from somebody else,” he said.
Witkoff also noted that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did not appear to have authority to finalize an agreement.
“We never had the sense that he had that authority,” Witkoff added.
During earlier talks, Iran initially sought indirect negotiations through intermediaries rather than direct dialogue with U.S. officials.
“If you’re there to make a deal, that’s just not a format that works,” Witkoff said.
In a tense final meeting, Araghchi became confrontational.
“He started yelling and screaming,” Witkoff recounted. “I was very calm with him, as I recall. I said to him, ‘Well, maybe you’d just like me to leave.'”
Earlier, Araghchi openly acknowledged Iran possessed 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity — a level close to weapons-grade.
“Sixty percent enriched material is roughly one week to 10 days away from being 90% weapons-grade,” Witkoff said. “He then said, ‘You and I both know that that is roughly 11 bombs’ worth of material.”
Additionally, Iran refused to negotiate limits on ballistic missiles, a key U.S. demand.
“They refused to talk about the missiles,” Witkoff stated. “And that was a redline for us.”
