Trump Rejects Putin Proposal to Move Iranian Uranium to Russia

President Donald Trump rejected a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to transfer Iran's enriched uranium stockpile to Russia as part of a deal to end the war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. During a one-hour phone call on March 9, which the Kremlin described as "frank and businesslike," Putin offered the move by leveraging Russia's technical capacity and history of storing Iranian low-enriched uranium under the 2015 nuclear deal.

The U.S. and Israel maintain that securing Iran's 450 kilograms of 60%-enriched uranium—enough for more than 10 nuclear bombs—is a primary war objective. Much of this material is believed to be stored at the Isfahan nuclear site. While the U.S. is considering military options to seize the material, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth noted that a voluntary surrender would be welcomed.

The rejection comes amid tensions over Russian cooperation with Tehran. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner questioned Moscow regarding intelligence sharing, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the U.S. informed Russia such sharing would be unwelcome. Although Russian officials denied the claims, Trump suggested that Putin "might be helping them a little bit."