Iran's supreme leader has issued a directive that the country's near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad, two senior Iranian sources said, hardening Tehran's stance on one of the main U.S. demands at peace talks.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei's order could further frustrate U.S. President Donald Trump and complicate talks on ending the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
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Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, US President Donald Trump
(Photo: Hamed Jafarnejad/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS, Shutterstock, AP/Alex Brandon)
Israeli officials have told Reuters that Trump has assured Israel that Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, needed to make an atomic weapon, will be sent out of Iran and that any peace deal must include a clause on this.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not consider the war over until enriched uranium is removed from Iran, Tehran ends its support for proxy militias and its ballistic missile capabilities are eliminated.
"The supreme leader's directive, and the consensus within the establishment, is that the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country," said one of the two Iranian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Iran's top officials, the sources said, believe that sending the material abroad would leave the country more vulnerable to future attacks by the United States and Israel. Khamenei has the last say on the most important state matters.
The White House and Iran's foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Deep suspicion among top Iranian officials
A shaky ceasefire is in place in the war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, after which Iran fired at Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases and fighting broke out between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
But there has been no big breakthrough in peace efforts, with a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil supply route, complicating negotiations mediated by Pakistan.
The two senior Iranian sources said there was deep suspicion in Iran that the pause in hostilities was a tactical deception by Washington to create a sense of security before it renews airstrikes.
Iran's top peace negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Wednesday that "obvious and hidden moves by the enemy" showed the Americans were preparing new attacks.
Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. was ready to proceed with further attacks on Tehran if Iran did not agree to a peace deal, but suggested Washington could wait a few days to "get the right answers."
The two sides have started to narrow some gaps, the sources said, but deeper splits remain over Tehran's nuclear program, including the fate of its enriched uranium stockpiles and Tehran's demand for recognition of its right to enrichment.
Iran hardens stance on enriched uranium stockpile
Iranian officials have repeatedly said Tehran's priority is to secure a permanent end to the war and credible guarantees that the U.S. and Israel will not launch further attacks.
US President Donald Trump on Iran
(Video: Fox News)
Only after such assurances are in place, they said, would Iran be prepared to engage in detailed negotiations over its nuclear program. Tehran has long denied seeking a nuclear bomb.
Israel is widely believed to have an atomic arsenal but has never confirmed or denied it has nuclear weapons, maintaining a so-called policy of ambiguity on the issue for decades.
Before the war, Iran signaled willingness to ship out half of its stockpile of uranium, which has been enriched to 60%, a level far higher than what is needed for civilian uses.
But sources said that position changed after repeated threats from Trump to strike Iran.
Israeli officials have told Reuters it is still unclear whether Trump will decide to attack and whether he would give Israel a green light to resume operations. Tehran has vowed a crushing response if attacked.
However, the source said there were "feasible formulas" to resolve the matter. "There are solutions like diluting the stockpile under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency," one of the Iranian sources said.
The IAEA estimates that Iran had 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60% when Israel and the U.S. attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. How much of that has survived is unclear.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in March that what remained of that stock was mainly stored in a tunnel complex in its Isfahan nuclear facility, and that his agency believed slightly more than 200 kg of it was there. The IAEA also believes some is at the sprawling nuclear complex at Natanz, where Iran had two enrichment plants.
Iran says some highly enriched uranium is needed for medical purposes and for a research reactor in Tehran, which runs on relatively small amounts of uranium enriched to around 20%.
Earlier Thursday, Al Jazeera reported, citing a Pakistani source, that Iranian officials have asked Pakistan for more time to assess and study U.S. negotiation points after Tehran said Washington had submitted a new proposal.
The report came amid U.S. media reports that Israeli officials are frustrated that Trump is allowing Iran to drag out talks.
The Pakistani source told Al Jazeera that “the army chief is still in Pakistan, and his visit to Iran depends on the outcome of the interior minister’s visit. Enriched uranium is the main point of dispute in the negotiations.”
Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem later reported that, according to his sources, Iran’s response to the U.S. proposal had not yet been delivered to Pakistan. Iran’s ISNA news agency, however, reported that “Iran is responding to the document sent by the United States.”
According to ISNA, the U.S. document deals with a framework and steps for building trust between the sides. The report said the expected arrival of Pakistani army chief Asim Munir in Tehran was intended to narrow gaps and move the sides toward an official announcement on acceptance of a memorandum of understanding.
Last month, Pakistan hosted U.S. and Iranian delegations for talks aimed at ending the war. The U.S. delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance, while the Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf. The talks did not lead to an agreement.
Ghalibaf and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Tehran, where they faced criticism from within the theocracy, suggesting they had shown too much willingness to compromise. Ghalibaf was later forced to state publicly that the talks had the support of Supreme Leader Khamenei.
Since then, a regional official familiar with the mediation efforts said, Revolutionary Guard commander Ahmad Vahidi has become the main point man for Iranian representatives in the negotiations.
Earlier, U.S. media outlets reported details of a tense phone call this week between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Trump about Iran. The reports described sharply different approaches between the two leaders: Netanyahu argued that Trump’s decision to wait was a mistake, while the president said he wanted to give diplomacy more time.
According to CNN, Netanyahu told Trump that further delay in striking Iran would be a mistake and urged him to proceed as planned. The report on the call was first published by Axios.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was not particularly persuaded by Netanyahu’s arguments and made clear he still supported diplomacy. The newspaper said Trump was seeking a deal that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while not ruling out renewed war later.
CNN reported that Trump told Netanyahu he wanted to allow a few more days for a deal in order to save lives.
Trump said he had accepted a request from Gulf leaders to give contacts with Tehran another chance, while also saying he had ordered the U.S. military to remain ready for an immediate “broad attack” if the talks fail.
He later said he might wait “a few days” for Iran’s response. “We need to get the right answers,” Trump said.
First published: 13:24, 05.21.26