Iran Denies Trump's "Nuclear Dust" Claim, Uranium Will Not Be Moved
Diplomatic tensions between Washington and Tehran have intensified once again following conflicting statements about the fate of Iran’s uranium, revealing the wide gulf in differences amid efforts to end the war.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has firmly denied the claim by US President Donald Trump, who previously stated that Tehran was ready to surrender its enriched uranium reserves.
“Iran’s enriched uranium will not be moved anywhere,” said spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baqaei, to state television on Friday (17/4/2026) evening.
He emphasised that the issue of uranium transfer was never part of the discussions.
“The transfer of Iran’s enriched uranium to the United States was never discussed in the negotiations.”
Trump’s Claim
Earlier on the same day, Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform:
“The United States will receive all the ‘nuclear dust’ produced by our great B2 bombers,” referring to the uranium he claimed was buried due to last year’s US airstrikes.
However, Baqaei stressed that the focus of recent talks is no longer solely on nuclear issues, but rather on efforts to end the broader conflict.
“Previous negotiations focused on nuclear issues, but now the negotiations focus on ending the war, and naturally the scope of topics discussed has become broader and more diverse,” he said.
He added that Iran’s primary priorities lie in the lifting of sanctions and compensation.
“The 10-point plan for lifting sanctions is very important to us. The issue of compensation for damages incurred during the imposed war is also very important.”
Reciprocity
The statement comes after a report by US media outlet Axios claiming that Washington and Tehran are discussing a scheme that includes the release of US$20 billion in frozen Iranian funds, in exchange for the handover of enriched uranium stocks.
Nevertheless, Iran still possesses significant uranium reserves, including those enriched to 60%, close to the 90% threshold required for nuclear weapons, as well as stocks enriched to 20%.
Prior to the US attack in June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimated that Iran had around 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, far exceeding the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 nuclear agreement, which was later abandoned by the US.