Summary of this article
President Trump turned down Vladimir Putin's Monday proposal to transfer 450kg of Iran's near-weapons-grade uranium to Russia, part of wider efforts to end the U.S.-Iran conflict, citing the need for direct U.S.-secured resolution.
The stockpile could yield over 10 nuclear bombs; past similar offers were rejected by Iran, and U.S. officials prioritize avoiding reliance on Russia amid allegations of its support for Tehran.
The move signals deepening U.S.-Russia friction, with Trump noting mutual aid to adversaries and Defense Secretary Hegseth hinting at alternative "options" like strikes, potentially escalating the war's nuclear risks.
In a phone call on Monday, President Donald Trump rebuffed an overture from Russian President Vladimir Putin to relocate Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium to Russia, sources familiar with the discussion tell Axios. The proposal, floated as part of broader Russian suggestions to de-escalate the ongoing U.S.-Iran war, involved transferring approximately 450 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity—a level just a technical step away from weapons-grade material sufficient to produce more than 10 nuclear warheads.
The rejection underscores the Trump administration's unwavering stance on securing Iran's nuclear assets without relying on adversarial powers like Russia, which has faced accusations of aiding Tehran with intelligence and logistics during the conflict. "This is not the first time it was offered. It hasn't been accepted," a U.S. official emphasized to Axios. "The U.S. position is we need to see the uranium secured." Similar ideas surfaced during pre-war nuclear talks in May and earlier negotiations, but Iran consistently balked, preferring IAEA-supervised dilution over outright transfer to Moscow.
Putin's pitch held theoretical appeal: Russia has a track record of handling Iranian nuclear material, having stored low-enriched uranium under the defunct 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Executing the move could avert the need for risky U.S. or Israeli special forces raids on fortified Iranian sites, a scenario that's been openly debated in Washington and Jerusalem. Yet Trump's dismissal signals a deeper distrust, especially as reports swirl of Russian-supplied targeting data endangering American troops in the region.
Speaking to Fox News Radio shortly after the call, Trump downplayed the uranium's immediacy while acknowledging the geopolitical tit-for-tat. "We are not focused on that, but at some point we might be," the president said, adding a nod to mutual meddling: "I think [Putin] might be helping them a little bit, yeah. And he probably thinks we're helping Ukraine, right? So he says that, and China would say the same thing. It's like, hey, they do it and we do it, in all fairness."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed the administration's flexibility without specifics during a Pentagon briefing. "They weren't willing to do that in negotiations," he noted of Iran's past refusals. "I would never tell this group or the world what we're willing to do or how far we're going to go—but we have options, for sure." Those options reportedly include voluntary Iranian handover—unlikely given Tehran's defiance—or precision strikes to neutralize the stockpile.
The snub arrives at a precarious juncture. With U.S. and Israeli forces locked in a grinding campaign against Iranian proxies and ballistic missile barrages, the uranium cache represents a "red line" for non-proliferation hawks. Securing it without escalation could pave the way for a ceasefire, but Trump's choice to bypass Putin risks prolonging the stalemate. Critics in Moscow and Tehran may frame the decision as American intransigence, while allies in Europe and the Middle East applaud the refusal to outsource a core security imperative.
