Iran is considering transferring its stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium to China as part of ongoing ceasefire negotiations with the United States.

The proposal marks a notable shift from earlier Iranian positions. Reports last week indicated that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had issued a directive prohibiting the removal of the uranium from Iranian territory, and Iran’s Foreign Ministry publicly stated the stockpile would not be transferred abroad.

China’s Foreign Ministry signaled openness to a role, stating Beijing “is willing to continue to play a constructive role in the political and diplomatic resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue” and supports a peaceful resolution through dialogue that addresses the concerns of all parties. It remains unclear what safeguards Washington would require for any transfer to Chinese custody.

The fate of an estimated 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity has emerged as the central sticking point in talks aimed at extending the current ceasefire. The International Atomic Energy Agency has assessed the stockpile as sufficient to produce several nuclear weapons if further enriched. While 60 percent enrichment remains short of the roughly 90 percent threshold considered weapons grade, nuclear experts say the technical leap from 60 to 90 percent can be accomplished quickly.

President Donald Trump has stated publicly that the United States intends to take possession of the material and likely destroy it. “We will get it. We don’t need it. We don’t want it. We’ll probably destroy it after we get it, but we’re not going to let them have it,” Trump told reporters at the White House last week.

Earlier proposals discussed in the negotiations have included diluting the uranium from 60 percent down to roughly 3.67 percent in an irreversible process under IAEA monitoring, transferring portions of the stockpile to Russia, or shipping the material to the United States for destruction. One US official with direct knowledge of the talks said the question of how Iran would surrender the uranium would be worked out over a 60-day window, with some material likely diluted and the remainder sent to a third country.

The uranium currently sits beneath the wreckage of facilities struck during US and Israeli military operations.

A draft agreement under discussion would extend the ceasefire for 60 days and serve as a step toward a final settlement. Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he will not sign a final agreement that does not require Iran to dismantle its nuclear program in full and surrender all enriched uranium, according to an official familiar with the negotiations.

Iran has maintained that peaceful use of nuclear technology is “the legitimate and inalienable right of its people” and one it “will never relinquish.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)