'Have inalienable right to stop you': US Special Envoy Witkoff says Iran insisted on right to enrich nuclear fuel

President Donald Trump decided to take action against Iran in order to protect America's national security.

• Iran claimed enough uranium for 11 nuclear bombs in US talks
• US and Israel attacked Iran's nuclear sites in February
• Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks across the region

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US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said during the first round of negotiations on Iran's nucleaur programme held earlier this year, Tehran said it had enough highly enriched uranium to build 11 nuclear bombs.

Witkoff says US President Donald Trump dispatched himself and Jared Kushner to hold talks with Iran to reach a deal, in which Tehran would agree to eliminate its missile program, cease its support for proxies, eliminate its navy “so we can have freedom of the seas,” and cease its nuclear enrichment.

“We went in there and tried to make a fair deal with them, and it was very, very clear that it was going to be impossible — probably by the end of the second meeting, but we then went back for the third meeting just to give it the last college try,” said Witkoff.

“In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly...that they controlled 460kg  of 60% [enriched uranium]...they were proud to have evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs," said Witkoff in an interview with Fox News, as reported by ANI.

However, the US also asserted that it obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities, so it shouldn’t have the ability to turn that enriched uranium into a bomb, said Witkoff.

During the negotiations with Iran ahead of Operation Epic Fury,  Witkoff said Tehran insisted on having an "inalienable right" to enrich nuclear fuel that they possessed.  "We responded that the president feels we have the inalienable right to stop you dead in your tracks," said the US Special Envoy.

Earlier, US Vice-President JD Vance had said President Donald Trump decided to take action against Iran in order to protect America's national security. Vance added that Trump had determined to ensure America remains safe not only for a few years during his tenure as the President, but to ensure that Iran could 'never' have a nuclear weapon.

Witkoff's remarks come as a full-scale conflict erupted in West Asia involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, following a major "military offensive" launched on February 28.

In a coordinated operation, US and Israeli forces carried out large-scale air and missile strikes across Iran, targeting key military sites, nuclear-related infrastructure, and leadership compounds.

In response, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict.