Iran had a stock of enriched uranium large enough to build 11 nuclear bombs, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has claimed.
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Witkoff revealed that he had discussed the Islamic Republic’s stock of enriched uranium with Iranian officials in Switzerland last week.
Negotiating teams from Tehran and Washington had met in Geneva for a third round of talks aimed at averting a war between their two nations, just days before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday.
According to Witkoff, the Iranian delegation boasted openly about their nation’s atomic capabilities during the meeting.
"In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly –with no shame – that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60% [enriched uranium] and that they’re aware that could make 11 nuclear bombs,” he said.
"[They] were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs.
"Jared [Kushner] and I just sort of looked at ourselves flummoxed, and said, ‘We’re really in for it now'.”
Witkoff’s story tallied with official estimates from the IAEA, the UN’s atomic watchdog, which reported last year that Iran held around 400kg of 60 per cent enriched uranium.
A nuclear weapon only requires around 50kg of uranium, though this must be enriched to 90 per cent purity to be weapons-grade.
In the same interview, Witkoff repeated Washington’s claim that Iran could have enriched its existing stockpile to this level within around 10 days.
This was despite President Trump’s claim last June that US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites had “obliterated” the country’s enrichment facilities.
Meanwhile, also speaking with Fox News, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed that Iran was just "months" from erecting impenetrable defences around its atomic programme and creating nuclear weapons.
"The reason that we had to act now is because, after we hit their nuclear sites and their ballistic missile programme, they started building new sites… underground bunkers that would make their ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb programme immune within months," he said.
The Israeli premier also dispelled the claim that Israel had dragged the US into the conflict despite Trump's campaign promise of "no new wars".
"I hear people are telling you that you’re going to have an endless war here. You’re not going to have an endless war because… this terror regime in Iran is at its weakest point," he went on.
"This is going to be a quick and decisive action. Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. He does what he thinks is right for America. He also does what he thinks is right for future generations."
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