CNN: Iran strengthens containment of highly enriched uranium stockpiles, increasing negotiation complexity

U.S.-Iran War Key News

Central Message

(Central News Agency, Washington, 13th - comprehensive international wire report) CNN reported, citing five U.S. intelligence sources, that Iran has recently intensified its efforts to seal stockpiles of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, including deliberately collapsing tunnels and planting landmines at entrances.

The sources said these enhanced measures have made accessing Iran's approximately half-ton stockpile of highly enriched uranium significantly more difficult, dangerous, and time-consuming than just a month ago, when President Trump publicly stated he might order U.S. forces to seize the material.

The Trump administration has proposed an agreement requiring Tehran to remove and destroy its uranium stockpiles. Iran's new defensive fortifications add complexity to this effort and raise questions about who would carry out the dangerous excavation missions.

Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the White House did not promptly respond to CNN's inquiries.

Trump has repeatedly emphasized that securing this nuclear material is a top priority, even as the U.S. negotiates an end to the war and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked by Iran.

According to senior U.S. officials briefing the media yesterday, both sides are increasingly close to reaching a provisional agreement requiring Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the U.S. for disposal.

However, U.S. and Iranian officials have offered conflicting accounts regarding this tentative agreement, and the exact terms remain unclear. (Translation: He Hongru) 1150613

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