Iran has reportedly agreed in principle to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of a broader peace agreement currently being negotiated with the United States, according to two US officials quoted by The New York Times. The reported development is being viewed as a potentially major breakthrough in efforts to end months of escalating conflict and revive negotiations surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme and regional security issues.
The development came shortly after US President Donald Trump publicly stated that Washington and Tehran were moving closer toward finalising a deal aimed at ending hostilities and reopening the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Although Trump did not reveal the full details of the proposed agreement, American officials told The New York Times that Iran had broadly agreed to relinquish its stockpile of uranium enriched to levels close to weapons grade.
According to the report, negotiations regarding the future of Iran’s enriched uranium reserves are expected to continue over the next 30 to 60 days. Officials said that while there is now a preliminary understanding between both sides, the exact process through which the uranium would be transferred, diluted, neutralised, or otherwise disposed of has not yet been finalised.
Detailed technical discussions are expected to take place during a later phase of nuclear negotiations once the broader political agreement between Tehran and Washington is formally secured. US officials reportedly stressed that the issue remains one of the most sensitive and technically complex aspects of the ongoing talks.
The reported Iranian concession represents a significant shift in the negotiations, particularly because Iranian sources had previously claimed that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had instructed officials not to allow the country’s uranium stockpile to be removed from Iranian territory under any circumstances.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran currently possesses nearly 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity. Experts consider this level dangerously close to weapons-grade material, which generally requires enrichment levels of around 90 percent.
Israeli officials have repeatedly argued that Iran’s current uranium reserves could potentially be refined further and used to produce material sufficient for multiple nuclear weapons if Tehran chose to pursue such a path.
The issue of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile had emerged as one of the central sticking points in negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Reports suggest that Iranian negotiators initially attempted to delay any firm commitment regarding the stockpile until later phases of talks. However, US officials said the American side insisted that Tehran must provide at least a preliminary commitment during the first stage of the agreement.
According to the report, Washington warned Iranian negotiators that failure to address the uranium issue early in the process could lead to the collapse of diplomatic efforts and potentially trigger a return to military confrontation.
The New York Times further reported that American military planners had recently prepared multiple contingency options targeting Iran’s uranium reserves in case negotiations failed. Much of the stockpile is believed to be stored underground at the Isfahan nuclear facility, one of Iran’s most important nuclear installations.
The Isfahan facility had reportedly been struck previously by US Tomahawk missile attacks last year during earlier stages of the conflict. Among the military options said to have been discussed by American officials was the possible deployment of powerful bunker-busting bombs capable of penetrating deeply buried underground facilities and destroying the uranium stockpile.
At one point, Trump also reportedly considered authorising a joint US-Israeli special forces operation designed to seize the uranium reserves after Iran regained access to the material following earlier military strikes. However, according to the newspaper, the operation was ultimately rejected because of the extremely high military and political risks involved.
One of the possible diplomatic solutions currently under discussion reportedly mirrors the framework used during the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated under former US President Barack Obama. Under that earlier arrangement, Iran transferred substantial portions of its enriched uranium stockpile to Russia as part of efforts to limit Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.
Another option now reportedly being considered would involve reducing the enrichment level of the uranium to a lower purity threshold that would make it unsuitable for use in nuclear weapons production while still allowing civilian nuclear applications.
The next phase of negotiations is also expected to focus heavily on the future of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities themselves. Reports indicate that the United States has been pushing for a long-term freeze or moratorium on enrichment operations, while Iranian negotiators are believed to have proposed a much shorter timeline with fewer restrictions.
In addition to nuclear-related issues, the proposed agreement is also expected to include the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets currently held abroad. According to officials familiar with the discussions, much of the financial assistance linked to reconstruction and economic recovery would only be released after a final nuclear agreement is completed.
This arrangement is reportedly intended to provide Tehran with a strong incentive to continue negotiations and comply with future obligations under the agreement.
The diplomatic developments come nearly twelve weeks after the United States and Israel launched major strikes on Iran beginning on February 28. Those attacks triggered widespread instability across West Asia and resulted in the deaths of several senior Iranian figures, including Iran’s supreme leader, according to reports referenced in the article.
The military confrontation also disrupted US-Iran nuclear negotiations for the second time within less than a year, further complicating efforts to revive diplomacy between the two countries.
In response to the strikes, Iran launched retaliatory attacks targeting Israel as well as neighbouring countries hosting American military bases. The escalation deeply unsettled Gulf states, many of which had long considered themselves relatively insulated from direct regional conflict.
The latest reports suggesting progress toward a uranium agreement are therefore being viewed as a potentially important turning point in efforts to reduce tensions, prevent renewed military escalation, and reopen broader negotiations surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme and regional security issues.
