Supreme Leader Says Enriched Uranium Must Stay In Iran, Sources Tell Reuters

DUBAI, May 21 (Reuters) – Iran’s Supreme Leader has issued an order that the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad, two senior Iranian sources said, hardening Tehran’s stance on one of the main U.S. demands in peace talks.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s order could further disappoint US President Donald Trump and complicate talks to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Trump vowed Thursday that the United States would not allow Iran to maintain a stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

“We’ll take it. We don’t need it, we don’t want it. We’ll probably destroy it after we get it, but we’re not going to let them take it,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Israeli officials told Reuters that Trump had assured Israel that the stockpile of highly enriched uranium that Iran needs to make atomic weapons would be sent out of Iran, and that any peace agreement should include a provision for this.

Israel, the United States and other Western states have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons; This includes pointing to a move to enrich uranium to 60%, far higher than needed for civilian use and closer to the 90% needed for weapons. Iran denies claims it is seeking nuclear weapons.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not consider ending the war until enriched uranium is removed from Iran, Tehran’s support for proxy militias ends and its ballistic missile capability is eliminated.

“The Supreme Leader’s directive and the consensus within the institution is that enriched uranium stocks 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.

Iran’s top officials believe sending the material abroad would leave the country more vulnerable to future attacks by the United States and Israel, the sources said. Khamenei has the final say on the most important state issues.

When asked for comment for this story, White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said: “President Trump has been clear about the United States’ red lines and will only make a deal that puts the American people first.”

Iran’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

An unstable ceasefire was achieved in the war, which started with the US-Israel attack on Iran on February 28, followed by Iran opening fire on the Gulf countries hosting US military bases, and clashes broke out between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But there was no major breakthrough in peace efforts as the United States blockaded Iranian ports and Tehran took control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil supply route, complicating negotiations mediated by Pakistan.

Two senior Iranian sources said there are deep suspicions in Iran that the pause in hostilities is a tactical deception by Washington to create a sense of security before resuming airstrikes.

Iran’s chief peace negotiator, Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf, said on Wednesday that “overt and covert moves by the enemy” showed that the Americans were preparing new attacks.

Trump said on Wednesday that the United States was prepared to launch more attacks on Tehran if Iran did not agree to a peace deal, but suggested Washington could wait a few days to “get the right answers.”

The two sides have begun to narrow some gaps, but deeper divisions remain over Tehran’s nuclear program, including the fate of its enriched uranium stockpiles and Tehran’s demand for recognition of its enrichment rights, the sources said.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said Tehran’s priority is to ensure a permanent end to the war and provide credible guarantees that the United States and Israel will not launch further attacks.

They said Iran would be ready to begin detailed negotiations on its nuclear program only after such assurances were met.

Israel is widely believed to have an atomic arsenal, but it has never been confirmed or denied that it has nuclear weapons; The so-called policy of uncertainty on this issue has been maintained for decades.

Before the war, Iran had signaled its willingness to export half its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, much higher than required for civilian use.

However, sources said this attitude changed after Trump repeatedly threatened to strike Iran.

Israeli officials told Reuters it was still unclear whether Trump would decide to attack and give Israel the green light to resume operations. Tehran has promised a crushing response if attacked.

However, the source said there are “workable formulas” to solve the problem.

“There are solutions such as diluting stocks under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” one of the Iranian sources said.

The IAEA estimates that Iran had 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60% when Israel and the US attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025. It is unclear how much of this survived.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in March that what was left of that stockpile was “primarily” stored in a tunnel complex at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility, and that his agency believed just over 200 kg of that stockpile was there. The IAEA also believes some are at the sprawling nuclear complex at Natanz, where Iran has two enrichment facilities.

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