Draft deal under consideration would include 15-year moratorium on uranium enrichment and the removal or conversion of enriched uranium in exchange for sanctions relief.
By World Israel News Staff
Iran has agreed in principle to transfer its stockpile of enriched uranium as part of ongoing diplomacy with the United States, but is refusing to hand it over directly to Washington, according to an Israel Hayom report citing three US and regional diplomatic sources.
The report said possible recipients under discussion include Russia, the International Atomic Energy Agency, or another third party, while the United States is pressing to be involved in locating and removing the material. It said Tehran has so far not agreed to a direct US role in that process.
A separate report by Israel’s Channel 12 said that a draft of a deal now under consideration by the two sides centers around partial sanctions relief for Iran in exchange for Iran accepting a 15-year moratorium on all uranium enrichment and accepting full IAEA oversight over its nuclear sites.
In addition, Iran would be required to completely reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international trade.
The US would withdraw its forces from the Strait of Hormuz and declare the conflict with Iran over.
The report also said that Iran’s enriched uranium would be converted to fuel. It is unclear if this would occur after Iran transfers the uranium to the US.
The issue of Iran’s highly enriched uranium has been one of the main sticking points in the talks.
Reuters reported last week that Washington wants Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium removed, while Tehran has resisted shipping out all of it. One Iranian source told Reuters that Iran might be willing to send part of the stockpile to a third country, even if it is not prepared to send all of it abroad.
Iran has claimed some of the material is needed for medical use and for a Tehran research reactor that runs on uranium enriched to around 20%.
The IAEA estimated that Iran had 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% when Israeli and US strikes hit Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. It is unclear how much of that stockpile survived, though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in March that what remained was “mainly” stored in a tunnel complex in Isfahan.
A second Western diplomat told Reuters the remaining stockpile “remains cause for concern” because it could give Iran enough material to produce several nuclear bombs quickly if it chose to enrich further.
At the same time, Tehran is signaling that it has not yet closed the door on renewed talks.
A senior Iranian official said on Monday that Tehran is “positively reviewing” participation in possible peace talks with the United States, but that “no final decision has been made.”
The same official said mediator Pakistan was making “positive efforts” to end the US blockade and secure Iran’s participation in the talks. A Pakistani source involved in the diplomacy said the current two-week ceasefire expires on April 22 at 8 p.m. EST.
