U.S. Iran Negotiation Team Visits Nuclear-Focused Oak Ridge Lab... 'Preparing for an Endgame?'

[Financial News] Key figures on the United States' negotiation team with Iran were reported to have visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where nuclear technology experts are gathered. The visit appears to have been a preliminary review of technical issues ahead of possible nuclear talks if a memorandum of understanding on ending the war with Iran is signed.
According to Axios on the 5th local time, Jared Kushner, the eldest son-in-law of President Donald Trump, and special envoy Steven Charles Witkoff visited ORNL in Tennessee the previous day. They were said to have consulted with a team of nuclear technology experts on site.
The visit came as the United States and Iran were in the final stages of coordinating end-of-war talks. The two sides are reported to have discussed a plan to hold nuclear negotiations for 60 days after signing the memorandum of understanding. The United States is also said to have recently assembled an expert team of about 100 people for the nuclear talks.
One U.S. official said, "This visit to Oak Ridge does not mean an agreement is imminent, but it is a sign that the chances of a deal are high." The official added, "We want to be prepared."
ORNL is regarded as a key research facility in uranium processing and centrifuge technology. It was also home to major facilities for the Manhattan Project, which aimed to develop the world's first atomic bomb in 1942. In 2004, Libya's nuclear development equipment was transferred to Oak Ridge.
For that reason, ORNL experts could become involved if future Iran nuclear talks address issues such as handling enriched uranium, limiting centrifuges, and building a verification system. President Donald Trump has previously demanded that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium be removed to the United States, but he is now said to have lowered the threshold for negotiations.
Oak Ridge has also been mentioned in past discussions on North Korea's denuclearization. John Bolton, the former White House National Security Advisor known as a hardliner on North Korea, raised the idea in 2018 of processing North Korea's nuclear weapons at Oak Ridge while calling for the country's complete denuclearization.
However, variables remain before a final agreement between the United States and Iran can be reached. Axios reported that an agreement on the memorandum of understanding was reached at the level of Witkoff and Kushner, but President Donald Trump requested revisions to two parts of the deal. Iran has said it will submit its own revised proposal, and the United States is reportedly waiting for Tehran's response.
The timing of the release of frozen assets is also a major point of contention. Iran is demanding the unfreezing of a total of $24 billion, including $12 billion at the time the memorandum is finalized and another $12 billion during the subsequent 60-day nuclear negotiation period. The United States, by contrast, is said to want to release the frozen assets in stages after confirming the final agreement and its implementation in order to preserve its leverage in the talks.

425_sama@fnnews.com Choi Seung-han Reporter