US Envoy Witkoff says Iran could be ‘a week away’ from enriching uranium to weapons grade

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff said Saturday that Iran could be about "a week away" from producing industrial-grade bomb-making material, calling the situation “very dangerous” and reiterating Washington’s red lines in ongoing nuclear talks.

Speaking to Fox News, Witkoff said Iran has enriched uranium up to 60%, which he argued exceeds levels needed for civilian nuclear purposes.

“They’re probably a week away from having industrial-grade bomb-making material,” Witkoff said. “That’s really dangerous. So they can’t have that.”

He said before talks with Iran, Trump instructed him and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and unofficial aide, that there would be “zero enrichment” and that the US would seek the return of nuclear material. Witkoff said the US position is that Iran must not enrich uranium and must hand over its stockpiled material. “There have been some very hard red lines drawn,” he said.

Witkoff added that Trump has questioned why Iran, under significant US pressure and naval presence in the region, has not declared that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon.

He also confirmed that, at Trump’s direction, he met with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s overthrown shah, to discuss developments, including protests in Iran. He described Pahlavi as someone who cares about his country but said US policy would be determined by Trump’s approach.

There has not yet been any response from Iran to Witkoff's claims.