Iran has agreed to surrender enriched uranium – report

Reports about Iran’s alleged agreement to surrender its stockpile of enriched uranium are conflicting, with one source denying earlier claims.

By World Israel News Staff

There are conflicting reports Sunday regarding Iran’s willingness to surrender its stockpile of enriched uranium, with two US officials claiming Tehran has accepted American demands on the issue, while another source has denied the claim.

A source cited by Reuters denied a New York Times report published Sunday that Iran agreed in principle to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of an emerging US-backed agreement aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The Times reported, citing two US officials, that a key element of the proposed agreement is an apparent commitment by Tehran to give up its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, a level close to weapons-grade.

The report said the initial agreement would not determine exactly how Iran would dispose of the material, leaving that issue for a later round of nuclear talks.

Iranian officials rejected the claim, saying Tehran had not agreed to transfer the stockpile abroad and that the future of its nuclear program would be addressed only in subsequent negotiations.

The dispute highlights one of the most sensitive unresolved questions surrounding the proposed deal, which President Donald Trump said Saturday had been “largely negotiated.”

Trump said Washington was close to an agreement with Iran but gave few details about the terms or what obstacles remained.

According to the Times, Iran initially resisted including any language on its enriched uranium stockpile in the first phase of the deal, arguing that the issue should be deferred to a second stage of negotiations. US negotiators, however, told Tehran through intermediaries that without some commitment on the stockpile, Washington would walk away and resume military operations, the report said.

Iran’s stockpile is estimated by the International Atomic Energy Agency at about 970 pounds of uranium enriched to 60%.

Much of it is believed to be located at the Isfahan nuclear site, which was struck by US Tomahawk missiles last June.

The Times reported that US military planners had recently developed options for Trump to bomb the stockpile, including the use of bunker-busting bombs against Isfahan.

The report also said Trump had previously considered, but did not approve, a high-risk US-Israeli commando raid to retrieve the uranium after Iran regained access to it following last summer’s strikes.

Under the 2015 nuclear deal reached during the Obama administration, Iran shipped much of its enriched uranium stockpile to Russia. A similar transfer could be one option under a future deal. Another possibility would be for Iran to convert or dilute the material to a level that could not be quickly used for a nuclear weapon.

But Iran’s denial suggests the two sides may still be far apart on the practical meaning of any initial commitment. Tehran has long insisted on preserving what it describes as its right to enrich uranium, while Washington has sought a long-term halt to enrichment.

The Times reported that the United States had sought a 20-year moratorium on Iranian enrichment, while Iran had offered a much shorter pause.