Published On 6/5/2026
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Last update: 23:28 (Mecca time)
The American website Axios reported on Friday that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner went to the national laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, yesterday, Thursday, to hold consultations with a team of technical experts who could play a role in the nuclear negotiations with Iran.
The website stated that the White House, the kitchen of the American decision, seeks to reach a memorandum of understanding with Iran to end the war and begin in-depth nuclear negotiations, and wants to have experts on standby if those talks begin.
Axios quoted US officials and regional sources participating in the mediation as saying that the United States of America and Iran are still at odds over many details of the memorandum of understanding.
The sources described the negotiations as being in their final stages, but it is still unclear whether an agreement will eventually be reached.
An American official told the website, “This meeting in Oak Ridge does not mean that the agreement will be reached, but it is an indication that the negotiations are in a very serious stage and that there is a good chance of achieving them, and we want to be prepared.”
The site indicated that some of the most prominent American experts in uranium processing and centrifuge technology are located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex, as in the past, nuclear materials and equipment – including those coming from Kazakhstan and Libya – were transported through the state of Tennessee.
A team of 100 experts
Axios quoted two American officials as saying that a team was recently formed that includes about 100 experts to participate in the nuclear negotiations if an initial agreement is reached.
They added: “The two American envoys conducted this visit to meet with members of this team and discuss preparations for implementing the potential nuclear agreement.”
The website indicated that Witkopf and Kushner agreed with Iranian negotiators last week on the terms of a memorandum of understanding for a period of 60 days to extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, allow Iran to sell oil, and launch talks on Iran’s stock of enriched uranium and restrictions on enrichment in the future.
US President Donald Trump requested two amendments to the text last Friday, and the Iranians announced that they would request their own amendments. The United States is awaiting the official Iranian response, but the sources indicated that the discrepancies are relatively minor.
Two sources familiar with the talks told the website that, for example, Trump asked Tehran to agree that any final agreement include a period of only 60 days to complete the process of reducing Iranian uranium enrichment, but the Iranians want this period to be 90 days.
A US official told Axios that there is also disagreement about the amount of frozen Iranian funds that will be released, and the timing of their release.
The US official stated that the United States said it would release the funds after reaching a final agreement and taking concrete steps to implement it. In return, the Iranians demand that part of this money be released immediately.
The website indicated that some of the experts whom Witkoff and Kushner met in Tennessee actually participated in the American talks that took place in the Sultanate of Oman with Iran before the outbreak of the war.
