US President Donald Trump is feeling "curious" about Iran, the US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has said. The reason for his curiosity, according to Witkoff, is that despite heavy US military positioning in the region, Tehran has not yielded. Witkoff explained, "I don't want to use the word frustrated. It's curious. He's curious as to why they haven't capitulated ... under this sort of pressure, with the amount of sea power, naval power that we have over there."
The US has been trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran under which Tehran would stop its uranium enrichment programme. However, Iran has maintained that though discussions are going on, no final understanding has been reached.
Speaking to Fox News, Witkoff expressed fears that Iran could be alarmingly close to making a nuclear bomb. "They are probably a week away from having industrial-grade bomb-making material. And that's really dangerous. So they can't have that," Witkoff said.
Also Read:Largest US Military Buildup Near Iran Since Iraq War: What's Deployed Where
Witkoff's remark has reignited debate over how quickly Iran could rebuild parts of its nuclear programme, especially after the US and Israel's Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025. Those strikes targeted Iran's nuclear infrastructure, reportedly destroying around 20,000 centrifuges, crippling Tehran's weaponisation efforts and heavily damaging its three major nuclear facilities, alog with several other smaller sites. Several senior nuclear scientists were also reportedly killed and parts of key installations collapsed, limited the access to enriched stockpiles.
Before Operation Midnight Hammer, intelligence assessments had suggested Iran was roughly a week away from weaponising its uranium, and it could take another three to six months to assemble it into a functioning bomb. That timeline had dramatically shrunk from earlier projections of nearly two years, raising fears within Israeli intelligence.
Today, both US and Israel agree that Iran remains at least two years away from becoming a nuclear-armed power. However, the earlier narrow window continues to shape strategic thinking in both capitals. Witkoff reiterated that Iran cannot be allowed to enrich uranium going forward, echoing Trump's demand for "zero enrichment". "There have been some very hard red lines drawn," he said.
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