Iran's supreme leader orders enriched uranium kept in Iran, rejects U.S. removal demand

Iran’s supreme leader has ordered that the country’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium must remain inside Iran, according to two senior Iranian sources cited by Reuters on Thursday. The directive hardens Tehran’s position in talks with Washington, where the fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium has been one of the main unresolved issues. Oil prices rose about 2% after the Reuters report, reflecting market concern that the dispute could complicate negotiations. Pakistani officials are still shuttling messages between the two sides as talks continue through an indirect channel. ### Why is the uranium stockpile such a central issue? Iran’s stockpile includes more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity, according to reporting cited by Al Jazeera, a level far above civilian fuel needs and close to weapons-grade material. The United States has sought removal of that stockpile from Iran as part of any arrangement, while Tehran has insisted it will not surrender what it describes as its right to domestic enrichment. Reuters reported in April that the fate of the stockpile and the duration of any halt to Iranian nuclear work were core sticking points in the talks. (msn.com) Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said earlier this month that enriched uranium was “as sacred to us as Iranian soil” and would not be transferred “under any circumstances,” according to Al Jazeera. Thursday’s directive from the supreme leader turns that public position into a firmer internal instruction, based on the Reuters account. (aljazeera.com) ### What exactly did the new directive change? Two senior Iranian sources told Reuters that the order said the near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad. Reuters described the move as a hardening of Tehran’s stance on one of the main U.S. demands in the peace talks. The report did not say that negotiations had ended; it said the order could further complicate them. (aljazeera.com) Donald Trump had said on May 10 that the United States would not allow Iran to reach its enriched uranium and said Washington wanted the material transferred out of the country, according to Al Jazeera. Tehran has publicly rejected that demand for weeks, but the latest order matters because it comes from the top of Iran’s political system. ### Where do Pakistani mediators fit into this? (msn.com) Pakistan has been acting as the main channel for proposals between Tehran and Washington, according to Iranian officials quoted by Al Jazeera. Foreign ministry spokesperson Baghaei said on May 18 that Washington had sent “a set of revised points and considerations” through Pakistani mediators and that Iran had responded through the same route. Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, met Iranian officials in Tehran as Islamabad tried to keep the process from collapsing. (aljazeera.com) Reuters reported in April that after earlier talks in Islamabad, both sides had narrowed some gaps but remained divided over the uranium stockpile and over how long Iran would halt nuclear work. A Western diplomat told Reuters at the time that the nuclear issue remained “a core obstacle.” ### Why did oil move on this news? (aljazeera.com) Oil prices rose about 2% on Thursday after the Reuters report signaled a tougher Iranian stance in the talks. Reuters said traders treated the directive as a sign that negotiations over a broader peace framework could face another obstacle. European stocks and U.S. futures also fell after the report, according to a separate Reuters market dispatch. (usnews.com) The market sensitivity reflects the wider regional backdrop. Reuters reported in April that discussions had also covered the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for about 20% of the world’s oil and gas needs. Any setback in diplomacy can feed concern about disruption risk in the waterway and about the timing of any broader de-escalation. (money.usnews.com) ### Does this mean the talks are over? Thursday’s reporting did not say the talks had collapsed. Reuters’ earlier account said negotiators had at one stage shifted toward a temporary memorandum to prevent a return to conflict, with a possible 60-day window for negotiating a final deal involving experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Pakistani mediation is still active, and Iranian officials have continued to say the process is moving through that channel. (usnews.com) Any next phase would likely turn on technical negotiations over the stockpile, enrichment limits and verification. Reuters reported that those later steps would require outside experts and the IAEA if a memorandum is reached. (usnews.com)