Reuters: Iran’s supreme leader orders ban on export of enriched uranium

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has issued a directive stating that the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium should not be transferred abroad, according to two senior Iranian sources, reinforcing Tehran’s position on a key US demand in ongoing negotiations.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s order is expected to deepen tensions with Washington and could further complicate discussions aimed at resolving the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Reuters reports.

Israeli officials told Reuters that US President Donald Trump has assured Israel that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium—material required for a nuclear weapon—would be removed from Iranian territory, and that any potential agreement must include such a provision.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he would not consider the conflict resolved until Iran’s enriched uranium is taken out of the country, its support for regional proxy groups is halted, and its ballistic missile program is dismantled.

"The Supreme Leader’s directive, and the consensus within the establishment, is that the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country,” one of the two Iranian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said.

According to the sources, Iranian officials believe that exporting the material would significantly weaken national security and increase vulnerability to future strikes by the United States and Israel. Khamenei retains final authority over all major state decisions.

Neither the White House nor Iran’s Foreign Ministry responded to requests for comment.

By Jeyhun Aghazada