US President Trump rules out allowing Iran to enrich uranium

US President Donald Trump stated during an interview with Full Measure TV show on Sunday that Washington has the nuclear material in Iran under constant surveillance by the US military. The material, believed to be buried under rubble of nuclear facilities, remains in Iran for now.

Trump said that the US will target any Iranian trying to reach the country’s highly enriched uranium, stating that it is “surveilled” and will be “blown up” if anyone gets near it. He also mentioned that the Space Force is watching over the material.

The highly enriched uranium is a major point of contention between Washington and Tehran in ceasefire negotiations to end the ongoing conflict. The US wants Iran to transfer the uranium outside the country and completely shut down its nuclear program, while Tehran has expressed opposition to giving up its right to a domestic enrichment program.

According to reports, the uranium remains under nuclear sites that were bombed by the US in June 2025, but Tehran has not confirmed the location of the material. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei denied Trump’s claim, stating that enriched uranium is “sacred” to Iran and will not be transferred anywhere.

Iran is estimated to have over 400kg of uranium enriched at 60 percent purity. The country had agreed to a multilateral deal in 2015 to scale back its nuclear program and cap its uranium enrichment at 3.67 percent under international supervision. However, Trump nixed the agreement and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

The ongoing conflict has led to rising oil prices due to supply issues linked to the Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, fueling inflation. The average price of one gallon of petrol or gasoline in the US has risen to over $4.50.

Source: Al Jazeera