Trump says Iran deal is scheduled for Sunday as uranium handover plan is discussed

US President Donald Trump has said a deal between the United States and Iran is "scheduled to get signed" on Sunday, as talks over the future of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles appear to be nearing a conclusion. The reported agreement would form part of a wider effort to end the more than three-month-old conflict in West Asia. Iran, however, has expressed scepticism about the timeline and has not said the deal is final.

Sponsored

Trump said the US military would take over the uranium stockpiles "at the appropriate time" after any agreement is signed. He also said American forces would go in "when all is calm" to get what he called the "Nuclear Dust", adding that the material would later be destroyed. According to the reporting, officials have indicated the proposed deal would include the destruction and removal of uranium stockpiles from Tehran, which are described as a key component for nuclear weapons.

A senior administration official was also cited as saying the arrangement could involve the material being destroyed on-site and then taken out of the country. The stockpile in question is reported to be more than 400 kg of highly enriched uranium. The material is said to be buried deep underground after US-Israel strikes on storage facilities in Iran in June last year.

Trump said B-2 bombers would be used to extract the material, and that the stockpile could be destroyed either in Iran or in the United States. The official quoted in the reporting said it would still take time to work out exactly how the plan would be carried out. The possible deal matters because it goes to the centre of the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear programme.

Sponsored

Highly enriched uranium can be used in nuclear weapons, although uranium also has civilian uses in nuclear power generation. Any agreement that requires the removal, destruction or transfer of stockpiles would be a significant step in efforts to limit Iran's nuclear capability and reduce the risk of further escalation in the region. It would also raise practical questions about verification, transport and the handling of material that is already deeply buried.

The reporting places the talks in the context of an ongoing conflict in West Asia and a wider diplomatic effort to reach an interim peace arrangement. Iran's reported caution suggests that key clauses may still be under review, even as the US side speaks publicly about a near-term signing. The involvement of the US military, and the mention of B-2 bombers, underlines how closely the nuclear issue remains tied to military pressure as well as diplomacy.

The reference to strikes on storage sites in June last year also shows that the current talks are unfolding against a backdrop of previous attacks on nuclear-related infrastructure. What remains unclear is whether the deal will be signed on the timeline Trump described, and whether Iran will accept the proposed handling of its uranium stockpiles. It is also not clear how any removal or destruction would be carried out in practice, or what role international monitoring might play.

#Iran #UnitedStates #uranium #nucleardeal #diplomacy

Sponsored