Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has ordered all enriched uranium to remain within the Islamic Republic, according to two top sources who spoke to Reuters under the guise of anonymity.
“The Supreme Leader’s directive, and the consensus within the establishment, is that the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country,” one of the Iranian sources said.
The uranium is enriched to 60%, much higher than the sub-20% used for nuclear power generation.
The directive conflicts with President Donald Trump’s interest in taking the “radioactive dust” as he’s called it, further complicating peace talks.
“President Trump has been clear about the United States’ red lines and will only make a deal that puts the American people first,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said.
The President said “we’re not going to let them have it [the uranium]” when asked about the matter on Thursday.
Iran’s atomic ambitions became emboldened by Trump’s hardline stance. Reuters detailed Tehran’s nuclear activities:
Iranian officials have repeatedly said Tehran’s priority is to secure a permanent end to the war and credible guarantees that the U.S. and Israel will not launch further attacks.
Only after such assurances are in place, they said, would Iran be prepared to engage in detailed negotiations over its nuclear program.
Israel is widely believed to have an atomic arsenal but has never confirmed or denied it has nuclear weapons, maintaining a so-called policy of ambiguity on the issue for decades.
Before the war, Iran signalled willingness to ship out half of its stockpile of uranium which has been enriched to 60%, a level far higher than what is needed for civilian uses.
But sources said that position changed after repeated threats from Trump to strike Iran.
3 Responses
There is no moral, legal, financial or logical reason for Iran to let us seize their property.
I want the war to end. But, it would be fun to see Trump refuse to back down, escalate the war for his zionist friends, and destroy himself. Trump is on a path to colossal failure.
Every nation should give up their nukes. Israel first.
Ok I ask then whats the solution they have been offered free lifetime energy. They’ve been offered the help to. Rebuild and actually build facilities. No, I’ve been here in this s*** for the last 45 years of my life. Even longer with Iran, so what’s the solution? Now, because let’s just be honest. If I ran every day get a nuclear weapon, they would use it. They’re not like Russia. They’re not like China f***. They’re not even like North Korea. At least you can sit down and negotiate with them. So where do we go from here