Iran's Enriched Uranium Will Be 'Turned Over' To US Or Destroyed, Says Trump

2026-05-26 04:26:42

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines on Monday, US Central Command said, imperiling a fragile ceasefire and casting new doubt on a deal to end the Middle East war.

The strikes came as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for the latest round of talks to end the months-long conflict, and as the Israeli military stepped up hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

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Trump also said in a social media post he expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the United States to be destroyed, or have it destroyed in Iran with an international witness.

The nuclear fuel "will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event," Trump wrote.

It was not clear whether he meant this would be part of a potential accord with Iran, and the commission he cited was abolished in 1974.

Earlier Monday, Trump said it should be mandatory for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements brokered in 2020 with nations historically hostile to Israel, as part of a peace deal with Iran.

Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington said Gulf nations were unlikely to accept Trump's maximalist demand.

"The national security of the Gulf states has been threatened more than ever before because of President Trump's reckless decisions, and he expects Arab states to thank him and to normalise relations with Israel, which they will not do at this stage," she said.

Before the strikes on Iran, Rubio had suggested a deal could be reached by the end of Monday.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said both sides had "reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues" but that it did not mean an agreement was "imminent".

Netanyahu said Monday he had ordered an "even greater acceleration" of the Israeli offensive in Lebanon following Hezbollah drone attacks on Israeli forces.

He said any final deal with Iran "must eliminate the nuclear threat entirely," a position echoed by Washington.

Iranian officials have stressed that, despite the longstanding US demand for an end to its uranium enrichment, talks on its nuclear program have been deferred until after an initial agreement.