Breaking News | Trump Rejects Putin’s Proposal to Transfer Iran’s Enriched Uranium to Russia
During a phone call on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed moving Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles to Russia as part of a broader deal to end the ongoing U.S.-Iran war. President Trump rejected the offer.
According to a U.S. official cited in the report, this was not the first time such a proposal had been made. Russia raised a similar idea during U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations in May 2025, prior to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June, and again in the weeks leading up to the current conflict. Each time, Washington declined.
The uranium in question consists of approximately 450 kilograms enriched to 60% purity, which can be converted to weapons-grade material within weeks and is sufficient for more than 10 nuclear bombs. Securing this stockpile remains one of the primary objectives for the U.S. and Israel in the current conflict.
The U.S. official stated clearly: “The U.S. position is we need to see the uranium secured.”
It is also unclear whether Iran would accept such a transfer. In the final round of pre-war negotiations, Tehran rejected the idea and instead proposed diluting the material inside its own facilities under IAEA supervision.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed Friday that the U.S. has “a range of options” to secure the stockpile, including a voluntary Iranian handover, though he declined to specify further. When asked about a potential special operations mission to seize the uranium, Trump said on Fox News: “We are not focused on that, but at some point we might be.”
Trump also acknowledged for the first time that Russia may be providing assistance to Iran during the conflict.
Source: Axios (Barak Ravid) | Corroborated by Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Middle East Eye, CGTN, and Xinhua