Iran's Supreme Leader Wants Enriched Uranium to Stay in Country

Iran's uranium enrichment facilities. (Source: IRNA)

JAKARTA - Iran's supreme leader has ordered that the country's near-weapons-grade uranium not be sent abroad, two senior Iranian sources said, hardening Tehran's stance on one of the United States' key demands in peace talks.

Mojtaba Khamenei's order could further frustrate US President Donald Trump and complicate talks to end the US-Israeli war in Iran.

Israeli officials told Reuters that President Trump had assured Israel that Iran's high-enriched uranium stockpile, which is needed to make nuclear weapons, would be shipped out of Iran and any peace deal must include a clause on this.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not consider the war over until enriched uranium is removed from Iran, Tehran ends its support for proxy militias, and its ballistic missile capabilities are eliminated.

"The highest leader's instructions, and the consensus within the government, is that enriched uranium supplies should not leave the country," said one of the two Iranian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, Al Arabiya reported from Reuters (22/5).

Iranian high officials, the sources said, believe the shipment of the material abroad will make the country more vulnerable to future attacks by the United States and Israel.

Khamenei has the final say in most important state matters.

The White House and Iran's Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

It is known that following the two-week ceasefire on April 8, which was then extended indefinitely, Pakistan, as a mediator, continues to seek a peace agreement between Washington and Tehran, despite differences between the two.

The two sides have begun narrowing some gaps, the sources said, but deeper rifts remain over Tehran's nuclear program - including the fate of its stockpiles of enriched uranium and Tehran's demands for recognition of its right to enrichment.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said Tehran's priority is to secure a permanent end to the war and credible assurances that the US and Israel will not launch further attacks.

Only after these guarantees are met, they said, will Iran be ready to engage in detailed negotiations on its nuclear program. Tehran has long denied seeking to build a nuclear bomb.

Israel is widely believed to possess atomic weaponry but has never confirmed or denied having nuclear weapons, maintaining a so-called policy of ambiguity on the issue for decades.

Before the war, Iran signaled its willingness to send half of its stockpile of uranium that had been enriched to 60 percent, a level far higher than that needed for civilian use.

But sources say that position has shifted after repeated threats from President Trump to attack Iran.

Israeli officials told Reuters it was unclear whether President Trump would decide to strike and whether he would give Israel the green light to proceed with the operation.

Tehran has vowed a crushing response if attacked.

However, the source said there was a "viable formula" to resolve the issue.

"There are solutions such as dilution of supplies under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," said one Iranian source.

The IAEA estimates that the State of the Mullahs has 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60 percent when Israel and the US attacked Iran's nuclear facilities in June 2025. How much is still left is unclear.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in March the remaining stockpile was "largely" stored in a tunnel complex at the Isfahan nuclear facility, and the agency believed a little more than 200 kg was there.

The IAEA also believes some are at the sprawling nuclear complex at Natanz, where Iran has two enrichment plants.

Iran says some highly enriched uranium is needed for medical purposes and for a research reactor in Tehran that operates with relatively small amounts of uranium enriched to around 20 percent.