Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile would either be transferred to the United States for destruction or destroyed inside Iran under international supervision as part of a potential agreement between the two countries.
In a post on Truth Social, the president said the uranium would either be “immediately turned over” to the United States or destroyed “in place.”
“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” he wrote.
President Trump’s comments followed a report published Saturday by The New York Times stating that Iranian officials had broadly agreed to surrender the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium stockpile, according to two unnamed U.S. officials cited by the newspaper.
According to the report, Iran’s willingness to address the uranium issue represented a potentially significant breakthrough in negotiations after Iranian leaders had previously resisted linking the stockpile to an initial ceasefire framework.
Reuters reported Thursday that two senior Iranian sources said Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had directed that Iran’s enriched uranium should remain inside the country.
“The Supreme Leader’s directive, and the consensus within the establishment, is that the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country,” one Iranian source told Reuters.
Negotiations between the United States and Iran have intensified in recent weeks as both sides attempt to reach a broader agreement tied to the ongoing regional conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The efforts also took place as U.S. forces carried out strikes Monday against missile sites in southern Iran and targeted boats allegedly attempting to deploy naval mines, according to the United States Central Command.
“U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins said in a statement.
