By Michael R. Gordon, Laurence Norman and Benoit Faucon

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said that the Trump administration is prepared to allow Iran to enrich uranium at a low level if it is subject to stringent verification, a significant shift from the White House's initial demand that Tehran's nuclear program be dismantled.

The position, if adopted during talks that are to resume Saturday following an initial meeting last weekend, would leave Iran with a toehold on a nuclear program and put the U.S. at odds with Israel's goals on the question.

"They do not need to enrich past 3.67%," Witkoff said on Fox News Monday night. "This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program and then ultimately verification on weaponization."

The U.S. is seeking tight constraints on Iran's nuclear activities and its missile program, while Tehran is hoping to ease economic sanctions that have battered its economy.

Going into the Trump administration's first round of talks with Iran, which were held last weekend in Oman, Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal that the U.S.'s initial position was that Iran's nuclear program needs to be dismantled. But he also suggested the White House would be prepared to compromise to reach an agreement.

President Trump has warned he could launch airstrikes if a nuclear deal isn't reached.

Iran has always refused to negotiate away the ability to enrich uranium as part of what it says is a civil nuclear program that is used for electricity production and medical research.

The Obama administration's acceptance of Iranian enrichment was key to paving the way to a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015. That accord also set the enrichment cap at 3.67% but permitted Iran to eventually achieve enrichment levels that went well beyond that. Trump called the deal weak and pulled out of the agreement in his first term.

An enrichment level of 3.67% is typical for fueling nuclear-power reactors, according to the Arms Control Association. Adhering to it would extend the time it would take Iran to purify the material to the 90% needed for nuclear weapons. At present, Iran could produce enough weapons-grade fissile material in a week or two, U.S. officials say.

While the ideas Witkoff outlined in his Fox News interview were similar to the Obama administration's 2015 accord in allowing Iran to enrich uranium, they differed in other important respects.

Witkoff appeared to suggest the Trump administration wants Iran to permanently keep its enrichment at levels that are no higher than 3.67%. The 2015 deal included a series of "sunset" provisions that allowed the enrichment level to increase over time. By 2031, Iran would have been free to enrich to any purity level and to increase its stockpile of enrichment to any level.

Witkoff also suggested a future accord should cover the missiles that Iran might use to carry a nuclear weapon. He said verification measures should cover "the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb."

Iran has balked at negotiating over its arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles, which it sees as central to its status as a major regional power and a way to compensate for its relatively weak air force, which U.S. intelligence said in its annual threat assessment last month suffers from outdated equipment and limited training.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been calling for an agreement like a 2003 accord struck with Libya, whose nuclear program was taken apart. Under that so-called Libya model, Iran's nuclear program would be eliminated, and its enrichment sites would be destroyed under American supervision.

The course of the talks indicates a divergence of views between the U.S. and Israel, its main ally in the region, analysts say.

"Israel can't live with Iran on the threshold, but the U.S. can -- that's the major difference," said Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank based in Tel Aviv. Many in Israel initially hoped the new Trump administration would help Israel destroy Iran's nuclear program by force, he added.

The Israeli prime minister's office didn't respond to requests for comment.

Trump has indicated that he strongly prefers a diplomatic solution to military action in which Iran might lash out at U.S. allies and American forces in the region and attack oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important commercial-shipping waterways.

But he has continued to threaten harsh consequences for Tehran if it doesn't agree to a new nuclear deal swiftly. On Monday, Trump said that could include a U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities -- a direct threat U.S. officials have generally shied away from.

"It's really simple," he said. "They can't have a nuclear weapon, and they've got to go fast, because they're fairly close to having one, and they're not going to have one."

Asked if that includes the possibility of a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, the president replied, "Of course, it does."

Iran has always said it requires 20% enriched uranium to fuel its nuclear research reactor, well above the minimal level Witkoff suggested. It started producing material enriched to that level in 2010.

Iran is currently producing 60% high-enriched uranium, and is the only country without nuclear weapons to do so. That material can be swiftly converted into the 90%-grade material needed for a bomb.

Given the advances Iran has made in making and installing more advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, a limit of 3.67% could still allow Iran to amass enough fissile material for a bomb in several months unless its stockpile is moved out of the country. Under the 2015 deal, Tehran was kept 12 months away from this so-called breakout point for the first decade, but after that the breakout time shrunk substantially.

Even if Iran had sufficient material for a weapon, it would still need to turn it into a nuclear device. U.S. officials say it would take Iran a few months to produce a nuclear weapon.

Iran has been chipping away at the remaining hurdles. U.S. intelligence noted in its threat assessment that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hadn't authorized the development of a weapon but was probably under growing pressure to do so.

There are currently United Nations atomic agency inspectors in Iran, but Tehran has placed significant constraints on their activities.

Write to Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com, Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com and Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 15, 2025 06:54 ET (10:54 GMT)

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