Trump Claims Iran Agreed to Hand Over "Nuclear Dust" ... Asserts Uranium Transfer
by Oh Suyon
Published 17 Apr.2026 12:17(KST)
Updated 17 Apr.2026 14:25(KST)
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Iran has agreed to transfer weapons-grade uranium it had hidden in its territory to the United States.
According to the Associated Press and the Washington Post, on the 16th (local time), President Trump met with reporters and said, "Iran does not possess nuclear weapons, and they have agreed to this," adding, "They have agreed to hand over the nuclear dust buried deep underground after we attacked them with B-2 bombers."
This appears to refer to the enriched uranium buried underground at Iranian nuclear facilities damaged by U.S. airstrikes in June of last year. President Trump uses the term "nuclear dust" to refer to Iran's highly enriched uranium. Highly enriched uranium can be used to manufacture nuclear bombs and has been one of the core elements the U.S. is most concerned about in relation to Iran.
President Trump said, "Iran wants to negotiate, and we are negotiating with them in a very friendly manner," adding, "They are now willing to do things they refused to do two months ago." He further noted that there may be another face-to-face meeting as early as this weekend, and described Iran's new leadership as very reasonable.
The Iranian side's position on President Trump's remarks has not been confirmed.
The Associated Press pointed out that the White House did not respond to additional questions regarding whether Iran has actually agreed to transfer enriched uranium, under what conditions, or to whom it would be transferred.
The Washington Post stated, "If this claim is true, it would represent significant progress in the U.S. efforts to weaken Iran's nuclear weapons production capability," but also noted that in the past, U.S. claims about Iran's nuclear-related promises have proven to be inaccurate or have ultimately fallen apart.
The report further explained that while transferring existing enriched uranium stockpiles would be a more substantial concession than simply pledging not to make nuclear weapons, such a concession would be limited in significance if Iran continues to maintain uranium enrichment itself.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed about 441 kilograms of highly enriched uranium with 60% purity prior to the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran in June of last year. Sixty-percent enriched uranium is weapons-grade material that can be further processed into over 90% purity, the level required to make a nuclear bomb with a small quantity. According to the IAEA, 25 kilograms of 90% enriched uranium or 42 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium is sufficient to produce one nuclear bomb.
The United States appears to have neutralized a significant number of Iran's centrifuges in the June airstrikes last year, but there are also suggestions that Iran may have hidden additional facilities. President Trump reportedly ordered the U.S. military to consider a high-risk operation to directly enter Iranian territory and recover radioactive materials before the two-week ceasefire began on the 8th. However, if Iran agrees to transfer uranium, the necessity for such military operations would be greatly reduced.
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