World
While UN Issues mixed signals, Witkoff exposes Iran’s nuclear evasion ‘pride’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The stunning details revealed by Steve Witkoff on his talks with Iran and their boastful remarks about its nuclear program have seemingly fallen on deaf ears at the U.N. nuclear agency.
Days into the U.S.-Israel joint campaign against Iran, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi posted to X stating, “There has been no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb.”
Fox News Digital asked the IAEA how it could assess the development of a possible nuclear weapon without access to Iran’s facilities but received no response at press time.
Grossi’s post came as the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff gave details to Fox News’ Sean Hannity earlier this week on his talks with the regime prior to the U.S. and Israel launching their military operation against Tehran.
Witkoff revealed the negotiators said they had an “inalienable right” to enrich uranium. When Witkoff countered that the Trump administration had the “inalienable right to stop [them, ]” he explained that the negotiators said this was only their starting point.
“They have 10,000, roughly, kilograms of fissionable material that’s broken up into roughly 460 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, another 1,000 kilograms 20% enriched uranium,” Witkoff explained. “They manufacture their own centrifuges to enrich this material, so there’s almost no stopping them. They have an endless supply of it. The 60% material can be brought to 90% – that’s weapon grade — in roughly one week, maybe 10 days at the outside. The 20% can be brought to weapons grade inside of three to four weeks.”
Witkoff added that during his first meeting with the negotiators, they said “with no shame that they controlled 460 kilograms of 60% and they’re aware that that could make 11 nuclear bombs, and that was the beginning of this negotiating stance.”
“They were proud of it. They were proud that they had evaded all sorts of oversight protocols to get to a place where they could deliver 11 nuclear bombs,” Witkoff said.
US special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrives to his hotel during new round of talks between the United States and Iran on Iran’s nuclear programme, in Geneva on Feb. 26, 2026. ( Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Image)
Grossi, who is running to become the next United Nations secretary general, did however admit in his post on X that Iran maintains “a large stockpile of near-weapons grade enriched uranium” and said that the Islamic Republic has not allowed inspectors full access to its program. With these facts in mind, he said that the IAEA “will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful” until Iran “assists…in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues.”
Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, FDD, told Fox News Digital, “No one paid much attention to Rafael Grossi throughout the Biden years when he repeatedly warned publicly that Iran was refusing to cooperate with and providing false statements to the IAEA about ongoing investigations into undeclared facilities, activities and nuclear material.”
PHYSICIST LAWMAKER WARNS US LACKS CLEAR PLAN FOR IRAN’S ENRICHED URANIUM
The former Trump administration official said, “There are some key facts being ignored today. The IAEA board last year found Iran to be in breach of the NPT. To this day, Grossi has confirmed that the IAEA cannot verify the Iranian nuclear program is peaceful.”
He continued, “This is not Iraq where we lacked hard public evidence of a nuclear weapons program. Iran had built out nearly every part of its nuclear weapons program in plain sight, with the weaponization work moving forward at undeclared sites controlled by SPND. If the administration had evidence the regime was moving quickly to reconstitute key elements of that program — from advanced centrifuge manufacturing to completion of a new underground enrichment site alongside advancement of delivery vehicle programs – the president was fully justified in enforcing a red line he set after Operation Midnight Hammer.”
Map of Iran nuclear facilities attacked by the US in Operation Midnight Hammer. (Fox News)
Spencer Faragasso, a senior fellow at the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), told Fox News Digital that his organization calculated prior to the June 2025 12 Day War that Iran possessed 440.9 kilograms of 60% rich uranium. With about 24 or 25 kilograms of 90% rich uranium required per weapon, Faragasso said the country possessed the ability to produce 11 weapons in one month.
Faragasso said that there remain questions about whether the Iranians can access their enriched materials, and whether they possess additional centrifuges that may have not been installed in the facilities that were struck.
US EMBASSY URGES AMERICANS IN IRAQ TO SHELTER IN PLACE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
“Being able to enrich the uranium up to weapon grade is actually a tall order,” he said, explaining that it would require a new enrichment site and components and materials that “Iran would either need to recover from its destroyed facilities” or “illicitly import them from abroad.” With a few hundred centrifuges, enough for two or three cascades, Faragasso said the Iranians could have enriched their uranium stores to weapon grade.
“To be clear, the successes gained from the June war are not permanent and officials from the regime spoke publicly about how they wanted to reconstitute their enrichment program, their nuclear program,” he said. “The more time that goes on, the worse the situation will get. It’s not going to get better, especially regarding the ballistic missile program.”
Satellite imagery taken on Jan. 30, 2026, shows a new roof over a previously destroyed building at Natanz nuclear site. (2026 PLANET LABS PBC/Handout via REUTERS)
He said the Iranians had previously expressed the desire to open a fourth enrichment site, which the IAEA stated was at Esfahan. According to Faragasso, there was “never confirmation” of where the site was or how far along construction may have been.
The group is now tracking an Israeli strike on March 3 on Min-Zadayi, a site that Faragasso said “was completely unknown” to them previously. The Israel Defense Forces reported on X that the site was “used by a group of nuclear scientists who operated to develop a key component for nuclear weapons.”
The State Department referred Fox News Digital to remarks made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the press on Tuesday on Iran’s nuclear program.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“This terroristic, radical, cleric-led regime cannot be ever allowed to have nuclear weapons.” Explaining that the Islamic Republic was “willing to slaughter their own people in the streets,” Rubio directed members of the press to “imagine what they would do to us. Imagine what they would do to others. Under President Trump that will never, ever happen,” he said.
World
Ye attempts a comeback with sold-out LA-area concert, support from Lauryn Hill
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The artist formerly and possibly again known as Kanye West reveled in support from one of his musical idols, Lauryn Hill, as he staged a sold-out Southern California concert meant to mark a comeback from years of controversy.
Eleven months after releasing a song titled “Heil Hitler” and just over two months after publishing an apology letter for his antisemitism, Ye let two decades of hits — and 70,000 screaming loyal fans — speak the loudest on Friday night at SoFi Stadium.
“I want to thank y’all for sticking by me all these years. Through the hard times, through the low times,” he told the crowd. “I love you for that.”
Hill joined Ye on a stage for the first time ever for an energetic rendition of his 2004 hit “All Falls Down,” which originally sampled her voice. Ye left the stage as she performed “Lost Ones” and “Doo Wop (That Thing)” before rejoining for his 2021 “Doo Wop”-sampling song “Believe What I Say.” They hugged as she exited.
Travis Scott, CeeLo Green and Ye’s tween daughter North West also strapped on safety harnesses to join Ye high above the stadium floor atop a striking half-orb stage, which alternately depicted a moon, a rotating Earth and a smoking sphere throughout the two hours-plus livestreamed performance.
A loud singalong of “Heartless” midway through the more than 40-song Good Friday show seemed to boost Ye’s spirits: “That’s what 80,000 people sound like, ladies and gentlemen. … They said I’d never be back in the States. Two sold-out concerts, baby!”
The first SoFi show Wednesday, his first major U.S. performance in nearly five years, turned out to be more of a warm-up as Ye was tentative in his rapping and drew attention to technical mishaps.
Fans at that show said they separated the 48-year-old performer’s personal beliefs and public statements from his music — and were ready to forgive after his January apology letter.
“You gotta back your family no matter what,” said Vince Da Prince, a rapper from Downey, Calif. “He’s a part of our fam since we were little kids.”
Added fan Yovani Contreras: “I don’t really bring into politics or the way someone’s personal opinion are. I’m into the music artistry … Like, I just, to me, Ye is always gonna be Ye. Kanye is always gonna be Kanye.”
Luis Velasquez said he’d been a longtime fan and had been put off by controversies in recent years, but felt the apology was sincere.
“Yeah he did apologize,” he said. “He’s taking the medication I think is what he mentioned. … For me as a fan that’s, like, respect, right? Like I think that’s cool enough to bridge that gap.”
Ye released his latest album, “Bully,” under both the names Ye and Kanye West, at the end of March. He dominated hip-hop and pop charts in the 2000s and early 2010s, winning 24 Grammy Awards despite public outbursts and a polarizing personality. He lost nearly all his major business partnerships and many fans after a string of controversies in the last several years including antisemitic remarks and social media posts.
He closed Friday night’s show with his “toast to the douchebags” hit “Runaway,” and walked out of the stadium behind his wife Bianca Censori and two of his children.
World
Cuba releases 2,000 prisoners amid Trump pressure, energy crisis
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Cuba’s government released more than 2,000 prisoners as the island faces mounting economic pressure linked to U.S. sanctions and worsening fuel shortages.
The Cuban Embassy in Washington said authorities granted pardons to 2,010 inmates under provisions of the country’s constitution, citing factors such as good behavior, time already served and health conditions.
“This humanitarian and sovereign gesture was based on a careful analysis of the nature of the offenses committed by the inmates, their good conduct while in prison, [and] the fact that they had served a significant portion of their sentences,” the embassy said in a statement posted on X.
RUSSIA SHIPS FUEL TO CUBA USING ‘SPOOFING’ TACTIC CHALLENGING TRUMP EMBARGO: REPORTS
Inmates celebrate as they walk free from La Lima prison in Havana on April 3, 2026, after Cuba announced it would pardon 2,010 prisoners amid mounting U.S. pressure. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
Officials said those released include young people, women, older adults, as well as foreign nationals and Cuban citizens who live abroad but were imprisoned on the island.
The government said it excluded prisoners convicted of serious crimes, including murder, sexual assault, violent robbery, drug offenses and corruption of minors, as well as repeat offenders.
CUBA’S ENTIRE ELECTRICAL GRID COLLAPSES, LEAVING WHOLE ISLAND WITHOUT POWER
The move marks the second prisoner release this year and comes during Holy Week, which Cuban officials described as a customary period for such actions.
The release comes as Cuba grapples with a deepening economic and energy crisis driven in part by a renewed pressure campaign from the Trump administration aimed at cutting off the island’s access to foreign oil. The restrictions have contributed to widespread fuel shortages, blackouts and growing unrest across the country.
WATCH: Cuban power blackout sparks protests as Trump hints at US intervention
President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba and has pressured nations such as Mexico to halt shipments as part of a broader effort to squeeze the island’s energy supply.
The U.S. also allowed a tanker to deliver fuel to Cuba earlier this week after months of severe shortages, with the White House framing the move as a humanitarian exception rather than a shift in policy.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
A man embraces a loved one after being released from La Lima prison in Havana on April 3, 2026, as Cuba began freeing more than 2,000 inmates. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump has also escalated his rhetoric, recently saying “Cuba’s next” while discussing U.S. actions abroad, though he later sought to downplay the remark.
The deepening crisis has also sparked protests and clashes across the island.
Cuba has been under communist rule since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, and is now led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who succeeded Raúl Castro in 2018.
World
Fact check: How can a country actually withdraw from NATO?
Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of the North Atlantic alliance over European countries’ reticence to join the war in Iran. However, questions remain over how exactly he would be able to do so, both under domestic law and NATO treaties.
-
Culture1 week agoWhat Happens When We Die? This Wallace Stevens Poem Has Thoughts.
-
South-Carolina6 days agoSouth Carolina vs TCU predictions for Elite Eight game in March Madness
-
Miami, FL1 week agoJannik Sinner’s Girlfriend Laila Hasanovic Stuns in Ab-Revealing Post Amid Miami Open
-
Education1 week agoVideo: Transgender Athletes Barred From Women’s Olympic Events
-
Minneapolis, MN1 week agoBoy who shielded classmate during school shooting receives Medal of Honor
-
Vermont6 days ago
Skier dies after fall at Sugarbush Resort
-
Politics6 days agoTrump’s Ballroom Design Has Barely Been Scrutinized
-
Atlanta, GA6 days agoFetishist ‘No Kings’ protester in mask drags ‘Trump’ and ‘JD Vance’ behind her wheelchair