Newsbeat
Mar 13, 2026

Iran Said It Possesses Enough Uranium For 11 Nukes: Report

U.S. negotiations with Iran collapsed after Iranian representatives openly stated that they intended to continue enriching uranium to levels that could potentially be used to produce nuclear weapons, according to Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy.

Witkoff explained that the statement caught the American delegation off guard. During the discussion, he and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, reportedly exchanged uneasy looks as Iranian negotiators clarified their position.

“The Iranians made it clear right from the beginning that they believe they have an absolute right to enrich all the uranium they possess,” Witkoff said during an interview with Fox News. “That was their opening position in the negotiations.”

U.S. officials immediately pushed back against the claim. Witkoff said Washington’s stance was that Iran’s uranium enrichment program should be fully shut down. However, rather than softening their position, Iranian negotiators doubled down.

“Jared and I just looked at each other and thought, ‘Is this really happening?’” Witkoff recalled.

The talks effectively unraveled when Iran rejected a U.S. proposal that would have paused its enrichment activities for ten years. As part of the plan, the United States had offered to supply Iran with nuclear fuel during that period at no cost.

“That was the moment we realized they had no intention of doing anything other than continuing uranium enrichment aimed at nuclear weapons capability,” Witkoff said.

During the negotiations, Iranian officials also acknowledged the scale of their nuclear stockpile, Witkoff added. According to two negotiators, Iran currently possesses roughly 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity.

Witkoff noted that Iranian representatives admitted that this material could potentially be converted into as many as 11 nuclear weapons.

“They weren’t trying to conceal it. In fact, they seemed proud of it,” Witkoff said. He added that Iranian officials even suggested they had ways to bypass international monitoring systems as their stockpile grows.

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