Reuters: Iran's Supreme Leader Orders Ban on Shipping Enriched Uranium Abroad

(CNA, Dubai, 21st, Comprehensive Foreign Report) Two senior Iranian sources have indicated that Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has ordered a ban on shipping the country's near weapons-grade enriched uranium abroad. This is one of the main demands from the U.S. in peace talks, and Tehran's related stance has become more rigid. Reuters reported that Mojtaba Khamenei's order could further disappoint U.S. President Donald Trump and complicate negotiations aimed at ending the war between the U.S. and Israel against Iran. Israeli officials told Reuters that Trump had assured them that Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium would be shipped out of the country and that any peace deal must include such provisions. Highly enriched uranium is a key material for manufacturing nuclear weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that he would only consider the war over if the enriched uranium is shipped out of Iran, Tehran ceases its support for proxy armed groups, and Iran's ballistic missile capabilities are dismantled. One of the Iranian sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, revealed: 'The Supreme Leader's order and the internal government consensus are that the enriched uranium stockpile must not leave the country.' The source indicated that high-ranking Iranian officials believe that shipping the enriched uranium abroad would make Iran more vulnerable to future attacks from the U.S. and Israel. Neither the White House nor the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to Reuters' request for comment. However, the Iranian source also mentioned that 'viable solutions' to this issue still exist, such as 'gradually diluting the stockpile under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).' The IAEA estimated that when Israel and the United States attacked Iran's nuclear facilities last June, Iran possessed 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%. It is currently unclear how much of this type of enriched uranium Iran possesses.