April 17 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump announced Iran had agreed to hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, paving the way for a continuation of peace negotiations he said would resume as early as this weekend.
Speaking outside the White House on Thursday before departing for an engagement in Las Vegas, Trump said Iran had agreed “very powerfully” that it would not develop a nuclear weapon, agreeing to “give us back the nuclear dust that’s way underground because of the attack we made with the B2 bombers [in 2025].”
“So very important that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, and they’ve agreed to that. Iran’s agreed to that, and they’ve agreed to it very powerfully. We have a lot of agreement with Iran and I think something’s going to happen very positively. It’s a very complicated subject, but I think we’re moving very fast. It could happen pretty quickly.
“We’re very close to a deal. They’ve agreed to almost everything. So maybe, if they can get to the table with a pen, we’ll have that over with,” he added.
Iran did not immediately confirm Trump’s claim.
“Nuclear dust” refers to around 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that the U.N. nuclear watchdog says is now entombed deep underground after the U.S. airstrikes against three key Iranian nuclear sites using bunker-buster bombs in June.
The attacks on the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan facilities destroyed or crippled most, but not all, of Iran’s centrifuges used to enrich uranium, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in June amid efforts to gain access to inspect the sites following the strikes.
The Washington Post said Iran handing over its uranium stockpile would mark a significant step forward, but less so if Iran was still able to enrich uranium, albeit from a very low starting point.
It further noted that Tehran’s promise not to seek a nuclear weapon was less meaningful when viewed in light of its consistent denials and insistence the program was only ever for civilian nuclear energy purposes.
An initial round of U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad at the weekend ended without agreement after the sides were unable to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program — which the United States wants ended to ensure Iran can never develop a nuclear weapon — and the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
However, it later emerged the talks did make progress on nuclear enrichment with Iran countering a 20-year suspension proposed by the U.S. side with an offer to halt all enrichment for 5 years.
In his comments on the South Lawn on Thursday, Trump reiterated his rejection of any moratorium, insisting nothing had been agreed.
“What we have is, we have a statement, very, very powerful statement that they will not have, beyond 20 years, that they will not have nuclear weapons. There’s no 20-year limit,” he said.
In an interview with the New York Post on Tuesday, Trump said he was unhappy with the face-saving compromise aimed at making the regime in Tehran more receptive to a durable peace agreement by handing it a “win” to show to the Iranian people.
“I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons. So I don’t like the 20 years. I don’t want them [Iran] to feel like they have a win,” he explained.
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