DUBAI – Iran’s Supreme Leader has directed that the country’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium must remain inside Iran, according to two senior Iranian sources, a move that could complicate ongoing peace negotiations with the United States and Israel.
The reported order from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei hardens Tehran’s position against one of Washington’s key demands in negotiations aimed at ending the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Israeli officials told Reuters that U.S. President Donald Trump had assured Israel that Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile would be removed from the country as part of any peace agreement. Israel has insisted that the removal of enriched uranium is essential to any long-term settlement.
Western governments, including the United States and Israel, have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, citing Tehran’s enrichment of uranium to 60 percent purity, a level significantly above civilian energy requirements and closer to the 90 percent threshold generally associated with weapons-grade material. Iran has consistently denied pursuing nuclear arms.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that the conflict cannot be considered over until Iran’s enriched uranium is removed, its support for regional proxy groups ends, and its ballistic missile capabilities are dismantled.
“The Supreme Leader’s directive, and the consensus within the establishment, is that the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country,” one Iranian source said, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter.
According to the sources, Iranian officials believe transferring uranium abroad would expose the country to future military pressure or attacks from the United States and Israel. As Iran’s highest authority on state matters, Khamenei holds final decision-making power on strategic issues.
Neither the White House nor Iran’s Foreign Ministry immediately responded to requests for comment.
A fragile ceasefire remains in place following hostilities that began after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. The conflict expanded after Iran launched attacks targeting Gulf states hosting U.S. military facilities and fighting intensified between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.
Despite mediation efforts led by Pakistan, negotiations have produced limited progress. The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil route, continue to complicate diplomatic efforts.
The Iranian sources said distrust remains high in Tehran, where officials suspect the ceasefire may be a tactical pause intended to create a false sense of security before possible renewed airstrikes.
Iranian negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Wednesday that both “obvious and hidden moves by the enemy” suggested the United States was preparing for potential new attacks.
Trump also warned Wednesday that Washington remained prepared to launch further military action if Iran rejected a peace deal, though he indicated the United States could wait several days to receive what he described as “the right answers.”
While negotiators have reportedly narrowed differences on some issues, major disagreements remain over Iran’s nuclear program, particularly the fate of its uranium stockpile and Tehran’s demand that its right to enrich uranium be formally recognized.
Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that securing a permanent end to the conflict and obtaining credible guarantees against future attacks from the United States and Israel remain Tehran’s top priorities. They said detailed nuclear negotiations could proceed only after such assurances are secured.
Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though it has maintained for decades a policy of neither confirming nor denying such capabilities.
Before the conflict, Iran had reportedly signaled openness to exporting half of its uranium enriched to 60 percent. However, sources said Tehran reconsidered that position following repeated threats of military action from Trump.
Israeli officials told Reuters it remains uncertain whether Trump will authorize new strikes or support renewed Israeli military operations. Tehran has warned it would respond forcefully to any attack.
Still, Iranian sources suggested compromise options remain possible.
“There are solutions like diluting the stockpile under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” one source said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Iran possessed 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent when Israeli and U.S. strikes targeted Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. The current condition and quantity of the remaining material remain uncertain.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in March that most of the surviving stockpile was believed to be stored within tunnel facilities at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site, with slightly more than 200 kilograms believed to remain there. The agency also believes some enriched uranium is stored at the Natanz nuclear complex, home to two enrichment plants.
Iran maintains that certain levels of highly enriched uranium are necessary for medical applications and to fuel a Tehran research reactor that operates using uranium enriched to approximately 20 percent.
Source: Reuters
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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