Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff says Iran has enriched uranium to 60% — far beyond civilian use — as Washington signals military options remain on the table
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff issued a stark warning on Saturday, telling Fox News that Iran could be as little as one week away from amassing enough enriched uranium for industrial-grade nuclear bomb-making material — a declaration that dramatically escalated rhetoric around ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Speaking on Fox News' "My View with Lara Trump," Witkoff said Tehran had enriched uranium to the 60% level — well beyond the low-level enrichment permitted for civilian nuclear energy — and warned that Iran was close to crossing a critical threshold. "They are probably a week away from having industrial-grade bomb-making material. And that's really dangerous. So, they can't have that," the envoy said.
Witkoff was careful to frame his remarks around enrichment capacity rather than a fully deployable weapon. Analysts and U.S. and Israeli officials currently assess that Iran remains at least two years away from producing an actual nuclear bomb — a process requiring not just weapons-grade uranium but also rebuilt centrifuge infrastructure, weaponization capability, and delivery systems, much of which was destroyed in a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation in June 2025."He's curious as to why they haven't capitulated... Bringing them to that point is extremely difficult."— Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy, on President Trump's view of Iran
The envoy's comments come as the Trump administration steps up pressure on Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme entirely. Witkoff reiterated that "zero enrichment" represents an American red line in any future deal, stating that Iran's insistence on maintaining enrichment capacity — even under the guise of civilian use — is unacceptable to Washington.
Witkoff also offered a rare window into President Donald Trump's mindset on the Iran file, saying Trump was not so much "frustrated" as genuinely puzzled by Tehran's posture. "He's curious as to why they haven't capitulated," Witkoff said, pointing to the scale of American naval forces deployed to the region. Two U.S. aircraft carrier groups are currently positioned in waters near Iran.
Contradiction With Previous Claims
Witkoff's warning has drawn scrutiny given that the White House previously declared Iran's nuclear facilities had been "completely obliterated" following Operation Midnight Hammer — the June 2025 joint strikes carried out by U.S. B-2 stealth bombers and the Israeli Air Force. That operation destroyed an estimated 20,000 centrifuges, killed numerous Iranian nuclear scientists, and caved in portions of the country's three major nuclear sites.
Critics and analysts noted the apparent tension between those earlier assurances and Witkoff's current language. Most independent experts had assessed that the strikes set Iran's programme back by one to two years. The 60% enrichment level Witkoff cited is 90% of the work needed to reach the 90% purity required for weapons-grade uranium — meaning Iran retains significant enrichment capability despite the strikes.
Negotiations And Military Pressure
Conflicting signals have emerged from the negotiations track. Bloomberg, citing Iranian media, reported that the U.S. had eased its demands on uranium enrichment, potentially accepting a "token" level of enrichment if it could be independently verified as purely civilian in nature. Iran's chief negotiator Abbas Araghchi appeared to confirm the shift.
However, Witkoff's public comments appeared to harden the U.S. position, with the envoy insisting Iran must demonstrate it "can behave normally" before any concessions are made. He also revealed that he had spoken with Reza Pahlavi — the eldest son of the late Shah of Iran — at Trump's direction, as the administration explores all potential avenues toward a resolution, including the prospect of regime change.
Protests have meanwhile re-emerged on the streets of Tehran, with students from several Iranian universities rallying against the Islamic Republic over the weekend, adding a domestic dimension to the mounting external pressure on the Khamenei government.
Additional reporting from Fox News, the Washington Times, and the Jerusalem Post.