Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner consulted with technical experts at the Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee on Thursday regarding preparations for a potential Iranian nuclear deal, according to an Axios report citing two US officials.
Witkoff and Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s Iran envoys, believe that the Oak Ridge team could potentially participate in nuclear negotiations with the Islamic Republic, Axios reported.
According to the report, around 100 experts were selected recently to participate in nuclear talks with Iran in the event that a preliminary agreement is reached.
In that event, a plan would be developed for the verification of Iran’s compliance with the deal, further limitation of its nuclear enrichment, and proper disposal of existing Iranian nuclear materials, the report stated.
US officials noted that several of the 100 experts had recently taken part in the removal of enriched Venezuelan uranium, which has since arrived in South Carolina.
In addition, some of the experts had traveled with Witkoff and Kushner to Oman prior to the start of Operation Epic Fury to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue, US officials said.
One US official told Axios that the Tennessee meeting “doesn’t mean” a deal is imminent, but rather 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.”
“These are the top nuclear experts in the US who know how to do the technical things that a deal with Iran will entail,” an official added.
Axios reached out to the White House and the National Nuclear Security Administration for comment, but both declined.
The Oak Ridge National Lab employs leading US nuclear experts specializing in uranium enrichment and centrifuge technology, according to Axios, with nuclear materials from countries previously possessing them, such as Kazakhstan and Libya, having been routed through the lab in the past.
