Netanyahu: All Enriched Uranium Must Be Removed from Iran
Ahead of the second round of nuclear negotiations between his close ally, the United States, and Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that any agreement between the two countries must include the removal of all enriched uranium supplies from Iranian territory.
Netanyahu, as reported by AFP and Al Arabiya on Monday (16/2/2026), also called for Tehran’s uranium enrichment capabilities to be dismantled.
The statement was made as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed for Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday (15/2) to attend the latest round of nuclear talks with the US. The second round of nuclear negotiations is scheduled to take place in Geneva on Tuesday (17/2).
In his speech in Jerusalem on Sunday (15/2), Netanyahu said that any agreement between the US and Iran must include several elements.
“The first is that all enriched material must be taken out of Iran,” he declared.
“The second is that there must be no enrichment capability… dismantle the equipment and infrastructure that enables you to enrich in the first place,” Netanyahu said.
The third, he stated, is resolving the issue of ballistic missiles.
A CBS News report, citing two sources familiar with the matter, indicated that US President Donald Trump told Netanyahu during their meeting in Florida last December that he would support an Israeli strike on Iran’s ballistic missile programme if negotiations between Washington and Tehran failed to reach an agreement.
Considerable uncertainty surrounds the fate of Iran’s uranium stockpile enriched to 60 per cent, reportedly exceeding 400 kilogrammes, which was last inspected by nuclear watchdog inspectors in June last year, before Israel and the US bombed Tehran’s nuclear sites.
Speaking at a conference of presidents of major American Jewish organisations, Netanyahu said he had insisted on these conditions, even during his talks with Trump earlier this month.
On Sunday (15/2), Netanyahu also called for ongoing inspections of Iran’s nuclear programme.
“There must be real inspections, substantive inspections, not preliminary inspections, but effective inspections of all of the above,” he said. “These are the elements we believe are essential for reaching an agreement,” Netanyahu stated.
Washington and Tehran resumed nuclear negotiations in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on 6 February, several months after previous talks stalled due to the war waged by Israel against Iran in June 2025.
The latest negotiations come after the US threatened Iran with military action and deployed an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East region, following a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran last month.