US President Donald Trump has said Iran is ready to hand over its “nuclear dust” to the United States, referring to highly enriched uranium that, according to NDTV, the International Atomic Energy Agency believes is buried deep underground after U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last year.
The claim marks a fresh escalation in Washington’s messaging on Iran’s nuclear program, though there has been no immediate confirmation from the Iranian side that any such arrangement has been accepted.
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Trump said, “There will be no enrichment of uranium," and added that the United States would work with Iran to “dig up and remove all of the deeply buried nuclear 'dust.'" Trump’s comment was framed as part of broader efforts to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Damaged, not destroyed
Iran was believed, before the strikes, to possess more than 400 kilograms of 60 per cent highly enriched uranium and nearly 200 kilograms of 20 per cent fissile material. It also noted that Tehran has long maintained that its uranium enrichment program is intended for power generation and energy security, not weapons production.
Much of Iran’s uranium stockpile is believed to be buried under rubble at a mountain facility hit in the bombing campaign ordered by Trump. Citing IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, the report said Iran’s nuclear material is mainly stored in an underground tunnel at the Isfahan nuclear complex and a cache at Natanz. US officials believe the strikes destroyed or disabled many centrifuges, though Iran is widely thought to retain others.
Iran needs to be reasonable
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Trump and his administration have long prioritized limiting Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons. Iran committed to a cap of 300 pounds of uranium enriched to 3.67 percent in 2015 as part of a nuclear agreement with the government of President Barack Obama. However, Iran began manufacturing near-weapons-grade material after Trump terminated that agreement during his first term, declaring in 2021 that they had begun enriching to 60%.
Trump told reporters on Thursday, "Iran wants to make a deal, and we're dealing very nicely with them." "Today, they're willing to do things that they wouldn't have done two months ago."
He said that there would “probably” be another round of in-person talks, “maybe over the weekend,” adding that their new set of leaders is “very reasonable.”
