The United States government assured that the joint military offensive with Israel succeeded in destroying almost all of the Iranian regime's nuclear capacity.
The statement was made by US special envoy Steve Witkoff during an interview with CNBC.
According to the official, the attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities have been highly effective and made it possible to dismantle much of the infrastructure used for the enrichment and conversion of uranium.
The military offensive is currently in its twelfth day, after starting on February 28.
Iran had material to manufacture multiple nuclear weapons
,Witkoff revealed that before the start of the military operation, the Iranian regime had enough enriched material to manufacture up to
eleven nuclear bombs.The official explained that Tehran had accumulated 460 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, an extremely high level.
“There's no reason to be at 60%, none, unless you're looking for a weapon,” he said.
The US envoy argued that this level of enrichment has no civil or energy justification and constitutes a clear sign of an attempt to develop nuclear weapons.
The offensive began after the failure of negotiations
.The official defended Washington's decision to continue with the military offensive even after a round of diplomatic negotiations
with Tehran.According to Witkoff, during these talks, the Iranian regime insisted on its right to enrich uranium and to maintain sufficient reserves to achieve military nuclear capacity in a few days.
“Starting the conversation by saying that they have the right to enrich themselves and that they have material equivalent to eleven bombs was enough to conclude that they were not seriously negotiating,” he explained.
For the United States, that position showed that Tehran had no real intention of achieving a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Trump maintains a red line on the nuclear program
The US envoy stressed that President Donald Trump established a clear red line regarding the Iranian nuclear program
.“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Witkoff reiterated.
