'Never said...': Iran’s FM denies Witkoff’s claim of boasting about building 11 nuclear bombs, slams US envoy’s 'lack of knowledge'

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denied the claims made by US envoy Steve Witkoff that he ‘boasted’ about having enriched uranium to build nuclear bombs. Araghchi suggested US President Donald Trump's negotiators Witkoff and Jared Kushner had a "lack of enough knowledge" during the final round of peace talks before the war broke out. Araghchi said the US fabricated the claims to "justify an unjustifiable act of aggression" and to "make some excuses for themselves." He denied the reports of shouting and expressed his surprise over what was conveyed to the US president.

Also Read: Trump raises doubts about Supreme Leader Mojtaba's wellbeing, rules out Iran war deal for now

What Abbas Araghchisaid?

Speaking to American channel MS Now, the Iranian minister said, “I don't know what they have conveyed to their boss. What I know is that on the 26th of February when we met in Geneva, we were able to make a good progress as (the) Omani Foreign Minister, the intermediator, said it was a significant progress. I do understand why they (Witkoff and Kushner) are saying those things. They want to justify an unjustifiable act of aggression. They are trying to make some excuses for themselves.” On the specific claim that he boasted about Iran's capability to make 11 nuclear bombs, he said, “ I never said that we are going to make bombs. I said that we have 440 kilos of 60 per cent enriched material, and that was not a secret. That is what is mentioned in the reports of the IAEA. So I said that, look, this is mentioned in the report. This if enriched more, can be good enough for ten bombs, as your own experts claims, so we are ready to give them up and to give them away.”

Explaining his comment further, he said that he is not aware how the US envoys interpreted his remark. “Maybe because the lack of enough knowledge, maybe because of, you know, their intentions to justify the act of which cannot be justified. Ihope that the true story of what happened on the 26th of February in Geneva would, would become, you know, known to the people soon,” he added.

What Steve Witkoff said?

Days after the war began, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said that Iran’s top negotiators including foreign minister Abbas Araghchi during nuclear talks “boasted” about having enough highly enriched uranium to build “11 nuclear bombs.” Witkoff said that Iranian negotiators “were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs.” He added that envoy Jared Kushner and he were “flummoxed” on hearing when Iranian envoy said that they had “inalienable right” to enrich their nuclear fuel.

Also Read: China responds after Trump urges countries to send warships to secure Strait of Hormuz

“In that first meeting, both the Iranian negotiators said to us directly that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60% [enriched uranium] and that they’re aware that could make 11 nuclear bombs. We responded that the president feels we have the inalienable right to stop you dead in your tracks and I just sort of looked at ourselves flummoxed, and said, ‘We’re really in for it now,” Witkoff recalled. “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. They wanted us to report positivity. It was not positive that meeting,” Witkoff added.