Islamic Republic refuses to ship enriched uranium even to Russia

The Islamic Republic has rejected a proposal to transfer its enriched uranium to Russia, even with guarantees from Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. An official close to the Pezeshkian government, who was not named, told Al Mayadeen, a channel close to Lebanon's Hezbollah, on Friday, 30 October 2026, that Tehran will “under no circumstances” take enriched uranium out of the country, fearing that doing so would open the way to the next US military attack rather than end the war.

According to the same official, meeting the Islamic Republic's seven conditions is a “red line”: until they are met, the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen and no new negotiations will begin. He also rejected mediators who, in his words, merely pass on America's demands, and called Donald Trump's claim that JD Vance's letter to Mohsen Rezaei was about medicine and medical equipment a lie. These are the same conditions that Mojtaba Khamenei repeated a few days ago in his remarks on ending the “neither war nor peace” situation.

400 kilograms of 60% uranium

According to unofficial reports, the United States has asked through the mediators that the Islamic Republic hand over about 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium, whose exact location is unknown. Israel's Channel 12 reported on 28 October that Washington had warned Islamic Republic officials that if the highly enriched uranium is not sent to the United States, attacks in the region do not stop and the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, a US strike will go ahead. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, also said last week, in a meeting with Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir, that not even a particle of enriched nuclear material would leave Iran.

A four-day plan and a meeting in Turkey

Al Arabiya reported on 29 October that the Islamic Republic has asked for the deadline to implement the mediators' plan to be cut from seven days to four. The mediators are consulting Tehran about holding a meeting in Turkey before 4 November. According to the same report, the meeting's agenda covers the nuclear file, the return of inspectors, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to the naval blockade.

Qatar's plan, handed to Tehran last Sunday, had a seven-day deadline, and several countries were ready to guarantee it. A senior Islamic Republic official told Reuters on 28 October that what Tehran had received was merely a list of unacceptable ideas and that the authorities would not back down on the nuclear issue. Meanwhile, Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday for a new round of talks, and Donald Trump is weighing options for new strikes after the US congressional midterm elections on 3 November.

The Islamic Republic is keeping its 60% uranium and, in exchange, accepting the risk of a new round of war.