Axios reports Trump Middle East envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Oak
Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee on Thursday to consult a technical team
that could support talks with Iran. The White House is seeking a memorandum of
understanding to halt hostilities and launch deeper nuclear negotiations and
wants experts on standby at the start of talks. U.S. officials say disagreements
remain on several MOU details; sources describe negotiations as in a late stage
but say an agreement is not certain. A U.S. official said the Oak Ridge meeting
does not mean a deal is imminent but signals talks have reached a serious phase
and increases the chance of agreement, so planners are preparing. Two U.S.
officials confirmed Kushner’s visit to the Department of Energy facility.
Officials have recently assembled roughly a 100-person expert team to join
negotiations if a preliminary agreement is reached; the envoys met team members
to discuss implementation readiness.
