️ Iran's nuclear program remains a flashpoint in international relations, with Tehran now believed to hold more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity — far above civilian needs and potentially convertible to weapons-grade material (90% enrichment) in a short time. The stockpile has survived US bombing campaigns and remains inaccessible to American forces.

️ US President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to seize what he calls "nuclear dust," but his statements have been contradictory. At times he claims the US will retrieve it with excavators after a peace deal; at others, he says Iran has agreed to hand it over. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS in March 2025 that the material is buried under rubble from the June 2025 "Operation Midnight Hammer" and that Iran has "no program" to recover it — though he did not rule out diluting it as part of a future deal.

️ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi stated in late April 2026 that most of the highly enriched uranium likely remains at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center. According to Grossi, 18 blue containers holding about 200 kilograms of enriched uranium entered a tunnel there on June 9, 2025, just days before the 12-day war that heavily damaged Iran's three main nuclear facilities: Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz.

️ Retrieving the material poses significant technical and security challenges. The uranium is stored in underground bunkers, requiring specialized handling and transport under IAEA supervision. Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton compared the situation to the dismantling of Libya's nuclear program in the early 2000s, which occurred in a "permissive environment." He warned that without such conditions, the priority must be preventing the material from falling into terrorist hands. Bolton also argued that "the only way to be certain about Iran not having a nuclear weapons capability is to remove the regime of the ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guard."

️ Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to store Iran's enriched uranium, but the material's exact location and the technical feasibility of extraction remain unclear. Iran insists on IAEA oversight for any retrieval operation. The standoff continues, with experts warning that even temporary concessions by Tehran would not eliminate its nuclear weapons potential.

Source: www.dw.com