US envoy details collapse of Iran nuclear talks as war enters fourth day

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As the United States–Israel war with Iran entered its fourth day, the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has revealed new details about the final hours of nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran before the latest escalation.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Witkoff said the talks broke down after Iranian negotiators insisted on their right to enrich uranium, a position that the US delegation said was unacceptable.

According to Witkoff, the US side made clear that Donald Trump also retained the authority to stop Iran’s nuclear programme if negotiations failed.

He said Trump had attempted to secure what he described as a “fair deal”, under which Iran would receive nuclear fuel from external suppliers. The arrangement would have allowed Tehran to use nuclear energy without conducting uranium enrichment inside the country. Iranian officials, he said, rejected the proposal outright.

Witkoff said the refusal convinced US negotiators that Iran intended to preserve its enrichment capability for potential weapons development.

Uranium stockpile raises alarm

The US envoy said Iran currently holds about 10,000 kilograms of nuclear material, including roughly 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity and around 1,000 kilograms enriched to 20 per cent.

He warned that such a stockpile could allow Iran to reach weapons-grade enrichment of 90 per cent within as little as one week to ten days.

Witkoff also claimed that Iranian negotiators had openly referenced the 460 kilograms enriched to 60 per cent, a quantity he said could theoretically be used to produce up to 11 nuclear weapons.

He described that moment as effectively signalling the end of the negotiations.

Broader US demands

Witkoff said Washington had been seeking a wide-ranging agreement that would curb Iran’s missile programme, end what it describes as Tehran’s destabilising activities across the Middle East, guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and bring a complete halt to uranium enrichment.

He said it became clear by the second round of talks that an agreement would be extremely difficult to reach. A final attempt was made during a third round, but the discussions ended in deadlock.

Conflict escalates

The comments come as fighting continues following Israel’s announcement of a surprise military campaign against Iran, launched in coordination with the United States.

The strikes were carried out just days before a technical meeting between Iranian and American delegations that had been scheduled to take place in Vienna.

Since then, the conflict has widened, with Iran launching large numbers of missiles and drones toward Israel and carrying out attacks on US bases and interests across several Gulf states.