Trump Boasts Again, Says Iran's Uranium is Ready to be Transported to the US
US President Donald Trump has revealed an unusual scenario in the plan for a peace agreement with Iran. He stated that Washington and Tehran will work directly together to take Iran’s uranium reserves before the material is moved to US territory.
Trump made this statement on Friday (17 April 2026) local time in front of supporters of the conservative Turning Point USA movement in Phoenix, Arizona. The remark came amid visible differences in positions between the two countries regarding the fate of Iran’s uranium stockpile.
“Someone asked, how are we going to get that ‘nuclear dust’? We’re going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators,” Trump said in his speech, quoted from AFP.
He even emphasised the scale of the operation he envisioned. “We need the biggest excavators you can imagine,” he continued.
Trump added that the process would be carried out jointly with Iran. “But we’re going in with Iran. We’re going to take it. We’re going to bring it home to the United States in a very short time.”
This statement expands on Trump’s claim from the previous day, when he said Iran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium. However, at that time, he provided no further details on the transfer mechanism.
On the other hand, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has previously affirmed a diametrically opposed position. They stated that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile will not be transferred to any country.
The term “nuclear dust” is often used by Trump to refer to Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, which the US accuses of being stored as part of an effort to build nuclear weapons. However, on some occasions, he has also used the term to describe residual material from the US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year.
Despite the remaining differences in views, Trump has shown increasing optimism about the chances of reaching a peace agreement. In his statement to AFP, he said there are no significant obstacles in the negotiations.
“There is no deadlock” and the agreement is “very close,” he said.
Trump’s remarks on Iran were delivered at an event also charged with emotional undertones. He was introduced by Erika Kirk, the wife of the late founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, a Trump ally who was murdered in September last year.