U.S. talks with Iran collapsed after Tehran’s negotiators openly said they planned to enrich uranium to weapons-capable levels, President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said.
Witkoff recalled being stunned and said he and Jared Kushner exchanged uneasy looks as the Iranian team laid out its position.
He said the Iranians opened the talks by insisting they had an undeniable right to enrich all the uranium they possessed.
U.S. negotiators immediately pushed back and argued Washington had the authority to shut down Iran’s enrichment activity outright.
Rather than back down, Iranian officials doubled down on their demands.
“Jared and I just looked at each other and thought, ‘Is this really happening?’” Witkoff said.
The talks broke down when Tehran rejected a U.S. proposal to freeze enrichment for a decade while the United States would provide nuclear fuel at its own expense.
Witkoff said that rejection made clear Iran intended to continue enriching uranium for nuclear weapons.
He added that Iranian negotiators openly acknowledged during the meetings that they held about 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent.
Witkoff said the Iranians conceded that material could be converted into as many as 11 nuclear bombs.
He also asserted that Iranian representatives were proud of their stockpile and boasted about evading international monitoring systems while building it.
Tensions rose sharply during a Geneva meeting when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi began shouting after the U.S. team insisted on a ten-year enrichment halt, NBC News reported.
Witkoff kept his composure and told Araghchi, “If you prefer, I can leave.”
After the talks collapsed, the U.S. team briefed President Trump, and a senior administration official said the president was surprised by how openly Iran pushed for enrichment.
Witkoff concluded that Tehran had shown no interest in a serious compromise.
He said President Trump had sent the team to test Iran’s seriousness, but by the second meeting it was clear a deal was impossible.
Witkoff said the team arrived at the third meeting in good faith but found nothing to be optimistic about.
