Overview
- Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Oak Ridge on Thursday to consult a newly assembled roster of roughly 100 nuclear specialists who could help implement any agreement with Iran.
- The Oak Ridge group would design concrete steps for verification, down‑blending of enriched uranium, safe disposal of material, and limits on future enrichment if talks move to implementation.
- Negotiators still have two key unresolved issues: the U.S. wants Iran to complete down‑blending within 60 days while Tehran seeks 90 days, and the parties disagree on when frozen Iranian funds would be released.
- Several experts who met the envoys previously joined talks in Oman and took part in recovering enriched uranium from Venezuela, showing continuity between recent operations and possible implementation work.
- U.S. officials describe the Oak Ridge consultations as a signal that talks are in a serious phase but emphasized the visit does not mean a deal is imminent and both the White House and NNSA declined to comment.