On May 21, President Donald Trump stated that the United States would not permit Iran to retain its highly enriched uranium, with intentions to destroy it after acquisition.
When reporters at the White House inquired whether the U.S. administration would allow Iran to keep the enriched uranium, Trump replied: “No, not really. To get this highly enriched uranium, we will get it. We don’t need him. We don’t want him. We’ll probably destroy it after we get it, but we won’t let them have it.”
This announcement follows a report from May 18 that Iran expressed readiness to transfer 400 kilograms of enriched uranium to Russia rather than the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated on May 15 that Tehran would hold additional consultations with Moscow regarding the future of Iran’s enriched uranium once U.S.-Iran discussions resume.
Additionally, President Trump has indicated that a peace agreement with Iran could be reached if Tehran agrees to halt all uranium enrichment for two decades and provide security guarantees. Meanwhile, Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom confirmed on May 20 it would handle Iranian enriched uranium in any format.
