There's 'almost no stopping' Iran from enriching uranium: Steve Witkoff
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff details the nuclear negotiation talks with Iran on 'Hannity.'
President Trump’s top Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, revealed that Iran had amassed enough highly enriched uranium for 11 nuclear bombs and could have upgraded some of it to weapons-grade within days — a realization he said underscored the urgency of Operation Epic Fury.
"They have 10,000, roughly, kilograms of fissionable material. That's broken up into roughly 460 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, another thousand kilograms of 20% enriched uranium, and the balance is at 3.67," Witkoff said Monday on "Hannity."
"They manufacture their own centrifuges to enrich this material, so there's almost no stopping them. They have an endless supply of it."
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a Cabinet meeting with President Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 29. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Witkoff said the 60% enriched uranium posed the most immediate threat, warning that it could be brought to weapons-grade, 90% enrichment, in roughly "one week, maybe 10 days at the outside."
"The 20% can be brought to weapons-grade inside of three to four weeks," he added.
According to Witkoff, Iranian negotiators did not dispute the figures during talks and instead viewed their nuclear capability as leverage.
"In that first meeting, both of the Iranian negotiators said to us directly, with no shame, that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60%, and they were aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs," Witkoff said.
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This image from video provided by U.S. Central Command shows a missile launched from a U.S. Navy ship in support of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28. (U.S. Central Command via AP)
"That was the beginning of their negotiating stance… they were proud of it. They were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs."
The special envoy’s remarks come as the Trump administration defends its recent mission, Operation Epic Fury, which targeted senior figures within Iran’s leadership. Officials argue Tehran left Washington with little choice but to act.
The operation follows years of Trump warning that Iran’s Islamic regime must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon — a red line he has said would endanger U.S. national security and stability across the Middle East.
Witkoff said the administration entered negotiations seeking a diplomatic resolution, including a proposal that would bar Iran from enriching uranium for a decade while allowing the country access to fuel.
"We discussed 10 years of no enrichment whatsoever, and we would pay for the fuel," Witkoff said.
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"It was flatly rejected."
That refusal, he said, signaled to U.S. officials that Tehran had no intention of dismantling its nuclear program.
