Iran's supreme leader has issued a directive that enriched uranium should not be sent abroad. This was told to "Reuters" two senior Iranian sources, which reinforces Tehran's position on one of the main US demands for an end to the conflict.
The order by Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei could further anger US President Donald Trump and complicate negotiations to end the war.
Israeli officials said Trump had assured Israel that Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium needed to produce nuclear weapons would be withdrawn from Iran and that any peace agreement must include a clause to that effect.
Israel, the US and other countries have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, but Tehran denies the allegations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not consider the war over until Iran removes its enriched uranium, stops supporting militant groups and eliminates its ballistic missiles. missile capabilities. Israel is believed to have a nuclear arsenal, but has never confirmed or denied that it has nuclear weapons, maintaining a so-called policy of ambiguity on the issue for decades.
One of the Iranian sources stressed that the supreme leader's directive prohibits enriched uranium stocks from leaving the country.
Senior Iranian officials, according to the sources, believe that sending the uranium abroad would make the country more vulnerable to future attacks by the United States and Israel.
The two senior Iranian sources also commented that there is a deep suspicion in Iran that the pause in hostilities is a tactical deception by Washington, aimed at creating a sense of security before resuming air strikes.
Yesterday, Iran's chief peace negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said that "overt and covert actions of the enemy" show that the Americans are preparing new attacks.
Trump himself said that the United States was ready to continue with further attacks on Iran if it did not agree to a peace deal, but suggested that Washington wait a few days to "get the right answers".
According to the sources, the two sides have nevertheless begun to narrow some differences, but deeper divisions remain over Tehran's nuclear program - including the fate of its enriched uranium stockpile and Tehran's demand for recognition of its right to enrich uranium.
Israeli officials noted that it was still unclear whether Trump would decide to attack and whether he would give Israel the green light to resume operations. Tehran has promised a crushing response if attacked. However, the source said there were "workable formulas" to resolve the issue.
"There are solutions such as reducing the stockpile under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency," according to one of the Iranian sources.
The IAEA has estimated that Iran had 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60% when Israel and the US attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. How much of this has survived is unclear.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in March that the remainder of this stockpile was "basically" stored in a tunnel complex at the Isfahan nuclear facility and that the agency believes that there is just over 200 kg of the enriched uranium there.
The IAEA also believes that some of it is located at the vast Natanz nuclear complex, where Iran has two enrichment plants.
Iran claims that the 60% enriched uranium is needed for medical purposes and for a research reactor in Tehran, which operates with relatively small amounts of uranium enriched to about 20%.