Iran's Supreme Leader has ordered that the country's stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium not be sent
By Bernard Moerdler,
Iran's Supreme Leader has ordered that the country's stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium not be sent abroad, two senior Iranian sources stated on Thursday, hardening Tehran's position on one of Washington's central demands at the negotiating table. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei's directive was relayed as "the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country," one of the sources stated. The directive complicates US President Donald Trump's stated insistence that any agreement to end the war include the removal of Iran's highly enriched uranium from Iranian territory. Israeli officials have told Reuters that Trump assured Israel the transfer would happen and that any peace deal must include a clause guaranteeing it. One of the Iranian sources stated that "feasible formulas" remained on the table, including diluting the stockpile under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision. The IAEA estimated Iran held 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent before the February 28 Israeli and American strikes; how much survived the campaign remains unclear.
The hardening of Tehran's position comes alongside a reshuffling inside the Iranian leadership that has elevated hardline Revolutionary Guard commander Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi to the centre of the negotiating process, the Associated Press reported. Following the unsuccessful April 11 Islamabad talks, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Tehran facing internal criticism that they had been too willing to make concessions, with Ghalibaf forced to insist publicly that the talks had the backing of the Supreme Leader. A regional official with direct knowledge of the mediation, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that Vahidi has since become the principal point of contact for those negotiating with Iran. Vahidi is believed to be part of a small circle in direct contact with Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained in hiding since reportedly being wounded in the February 28 Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Topics: Iran, Diplomacy
Reported by Bernard Moerdler for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.