SUMMARY

US President Donald Trump has suggested that efforts to locate and secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium may be driven more by political optics than by immediate security concerns, even as the issue remains one of the main sticking points in ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity from China, Trump said he would still prefer that the uranium remain under American control, but downplayed its practical significance. “I just feel better if I got it, actually, but it’s — I think, it’s more for public relations than it is for anything else,” Trump said, according to AFP.

His remarks came amid diplomatic efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire after the 10-week US-Israel war on Iran, which began following coordinated strikes ordered by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 28. Although active hostilities have eased, negotiations remain fragile, with Iran’s nuclear programme emerging as the central unresolved issue. Netanyahu recently said the conflict was “not over” and argued that Iran’s sensitive nuclear material “has to be taken out” of the country.

Israeli officials have repeatedly said Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium poses a long-term security threat and that any peace arrangement must include strict guarantees preventing Tehran from rebuilding its nuclear capabilities. According to officials familiar with the negotiations, the United States wants Iran to transfer its existing uranium stockpile outside the country and completely dismantle its nuclear programme as part of a broader settlement. Washington has argued that removing the material is necessary to ensure Iran cannot quickly move towards developing a nuclear weapon.

Tehran, however, has firmly rejected those demands. Iranian leaders have said the country will not surrender its right to maintain a domestic nuclear enrichment programme, describing it as a matter of sovereignty and national scientific progress. The disagreement over uranium enrichment has become one of the most difficult hurdles in the ceasefire talks, with diplomats saying both sides remain divided over whether Iran should be allowed to retain any enrichment capability on its soil, even for civilian purposes.

Published on: May 15, 2026 11:04 AM IST