Iran keeps enriched uranium inside country

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has ordered that the country’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% must remain inside Iran, according to two senior Iranian sources cited by Reuters on Thursday. The directive rejects a central U.S. demand in the current negotiations, which has focused on whether Iran’s near-weapons-grade material would be shipped abroad as part of any agreement. Iranian officials say the stockpile is needed inside the country, while the United States and its allies have long argued that removing it would be a basic test of any deal’s credibility. The dispute comes as Washington says it is still pursuing diplomacy with Tehran after the 2025 war and amid wider talks that also cover sanctions, missiles and shipping security. ### Why does the location of the uranium matter so much? The International Atomic Energy Agency estimated that Iran had 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% before U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, according to Reuters and IAEA-linked reporting. Uranium at 60% is below the roughly 90% enrichment generally associated with weapons-grade material, but Western governments have long said it is much closer to that threshold than what is needed for civilian nuclear power. (usnews.com) Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. Israeli officials told Reuters that President Donald Trump had assured Israel that Iran’s highly enriched uranium would be sent out of the country and that any peace deal must include such a clause. Keeping the stockpile inside Iran leaves open a core verification question: whether inspectors and outside powers would be able to judge how much material remains, where it is held and how quickly it could be processed further. (usnews.com) ### What exactly did Tehran reject? Two senior Iranian sources told Reuters that Khamenei’s order hardened Tehran’s position against sending the stockpile abroad. Iranian officials have argued that some highly enriched uranium is needed for medical purposes and for a research reactor in Tehran, according to Reuters-based reports carried by other outlets. (usnews.com) Reuters reported that the refusal hit one of the main U.S. conditions in the talks. The same report said uncertainty remains over how much of Iran’s 60% stockpile survived the June 2025 attacks, adding another layer to the dispute over removal, monitoring and accounting. (usnews.com) ### What else is on the table in the negotiations? A House of Commons Library briefing published on April 24 said the 2026 U.S.-Iran talks cover Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. sanctions, Iran’s ballistic missile program and the security of the Strait of Hormuz. That means the uranium issue is being negotiated inside a broader package rather than as a standalone technical step. (usnews.com) Pakistan has been mediating the negotiations, according to Reuters’ account of the talks. The same report said a ceasefire remains in place after a war that began on Feb. 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, followed by Iranian attacks on Gulf states hosting U.S. bases and fighting involving Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) ### What is Washington saying now? U.S. Vice President JD Vance said this week that Washington had made “good progress” in the talks but was “locked and loaded” to resume military action if there was no deal, according to Reuters-based reports. In separate remarks reported on May 19, Vance said the United States was “not currently” planning for Russia to take Iran’s enriched uranium as part of an agreement. (usnews.com) President Trump also signaled that diplomacy was still active while warning of possible renewed strikes, according to Reuters-based coverage summarized by other outlets. Those comments underscored that the administration is publicly keeping both negotiation and military options in play as the uranium dispute remains unresolved. (news18.com) ### What happens next? The next formal marker is the continuation of the Pakistan-mediated U.S.-Iran talks described in the April 24 House of Commons Library briefing and in Reuters’ May 21 report. Any agreement would still need to address the fate of Iran’s 60% stockpile, along with sanctions, ballistic missiles and Strait of Hormuz security, the same sources said. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) (news18.com)