Iran has not agreed to hand over enriched uranium, says senior Iranian source

A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday (24) that Tehran had not agreed to hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The source said the Iran nuclear issue is not part of the preliminary agreement with the United States.

"The nuclear issue will be addressed in negotiations for a final agreement and is therefore not part of the current agreement. There has been no agreement on Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium being shipped out of the country," the source said.

Nuclear program at center of dispute
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that Iran cannot be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon.

In fact, the White House published on March 2 a text titled "74 Times President Trump Made It Clear that Iran Cannot Have a Nuclear Weapon." He has since reiterated this many times.

To that end, American negotiators sought to impose severe limits on Iran's ability to enrich uranium, in addition to handing over its current stockpile of highly enriched uranium, estimated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at 408 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% - close to the level needed for nuclear weapons.

Iran has always maintained that it does not seek to develop a nuclear weapon and, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

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Both in negotiations with the United States last year and since the conflict began in February, Tehran has resisted a long-term suspension of enrichment.

Last month, American negotiators proposed a 20-year pause, a source familiar with the discussions said. Iran responded with a proposal for a five-year suspension, which the US rejected, according to an American official.

Iran has also resisted sending its enriched uranium abroad as demanded by the United States, and state-linked Iranian media outlets insist that a potential document to end the war does not include a commitment to hand over stockpiles and postpones nuclear negotiations until after the end of the conflict.

These negotiations were ongoing in February, when the United States and Israel began military strikes against Iran.

What is enriched uranium?

Source: CNN