Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with nuclear specialists in Tennessee as U.S. officials prepare for possible technical negotiations over Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and future limits on enrichment.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and White House adviser Jared Kushner traveled to Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee on Thursday to meet with nuclear experts who could help shape any future agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, according to reports.
The visit came as the United States and Iran remain divided over parts of a proposed memorandum of understanding intended to extend a ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear activities, Axios reported, citing U.S. officials and regional sources involved in the mediation.
A source familiar with the trip confirmed the visit to Reuters but did not provide additional details.
“This meeting in Oak Ridge doesn’t mean that a deal is going to happen, but it is a sign that the negotiations are in a very serious phase and that there is a good chance to get it done and we want to be prepared,” a U.S. official told Axios.
The Tennessee meeting focused on technical planning for a possible second phase of negotiations if Washington and Tehran finalize a preliminary agreement. U.S. officials told Axios that a team of roughly 100 experts was recently assembled to assist with nuclear negotiations if the current talks advance.
Witkoff and Kushner met with members of that team to discuss how any agreement could be implemented, including how Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile could be handled, how future enrichment could be limited and how compliance could be verified.
Iran is believed to still hold much of its highly enriched uranium, including material that was located at sites targeted by U.S. B-2 Spirit bombers in June 2025. Tehran has insisted that it must retain the ability to enrich uranium and has denied seeking a nuclear weapon.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has said Iran possesses about 440.9 kilograms, or 972 pounds, of uranium enriched to 60%. That level is far above the 3% to 5% enrichment typically used for civilian nuclear power and above the roughly 20% used for some research purposes, though still below the approximately 90% enrichment generally considered weapons-grade.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the nearby Y-12 National Security Complex are home to some of the country’s leading experts on uranium processing and centrifuge technology. Y-12 is located about 9 miles north of Oak Ridge and has previously handled nuclear materials and equipment routed through Tennessee, including material from Kazakhstan and Libya.
The White House declined to comment to Axios. The National Nuclear Security Administration also declined to comment.
Witkoff and Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, reached terms with Iranian counterparts last week on a 60-day memorandum of understanding that would serve as the framework for wider negotiations. The proposed arrangement would seek to extend a two-month ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, permit Iran to sell oil and launch talks on Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and future enrichment restrictions.
Trump requested two changes to the draft agreement on May 29, and Iranian officials said they would seek adjustments of their own. The United States is awaiting Iran’s official response, though sources told Axios that the remaining gaps are relatively narrow.
If the talks move forward, the expert team that met with Witkoff and Kushner would be responsible for helping design the technical elements of any nuclear arrangement. That could include a plan for disposing of or transferring Iranian nuclear material, limiting enrichment capacity and verifying that Tehran complies with the deal.
U.S. officials said some of the experts present Thursday were involved in recovering enriched uranium from Venezuela several weeks ago. That material, which came from a research reactor, arrived last month in South Carolina for processing.
Several of the nuclear specialists who attended the Oak Ridge meeting also joined Kushner and Witkoff in Oman for nuclear discussions with Iran before the war began.
“These are the top nuclear experts in the U.S. who know how to do the technical things that a deal with Iran will entail,” a U.S. official told Axios.
The Oak Ridge trip signals that the Trump administration is preparing for the technical demands of a possible nuclear deal even as major political questions remain unresolved. Any agreement would have to address Iran’s existing stockpile, future enrichment limits, verification procedures and the broader regional tensions that have shaped the negotiations.
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