Iran won’t release enriched nuclear material: security chief - TimesLIVE

Iran will not allow even a single particle of enriched nuclear material to leave the country and there will be consequences in the event of any new US strikes on the Islamic Republic, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said in televised remarks on Wednesday.

Rezaei was speaking to Lebanon’s pro-Iranian Al Mayadeen TV after US officials downplayed the need for additional military action against Iran, with analysts noting President Donald Trump’s more conciliatory tone since the Republicans’ defeat in the November 3 midterm elections.

Rezaei has said there are currently no negotiations taking place between Tehran and Washington.

“Any new US attacks will also be met with targeting US bases far away,” he said.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamanei has issued a directive that the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad, two senior Iranian sources said in May.

“We need the enriched material to design ships and submarines that work on nuclear energy”, Rezaei said, adding that Tehran had informed Moscow that its enriched nuclear material would remain in the country and “we will use it ourselves”.

Russia has previously offered to remove uranium from Iran as part of a potential deal to ease US concerns, but said it was for Tehran to decide whether to remove it or not.

The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Iran had 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60% — a level far higher than needed for civilian use — when Israel and the US attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. How much of that ⁠has survived is ​unclear.

Israel, the US and other Western countries have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusation.

Washington has said nuclear issues must be part of any initial negotiations with Iran aimed at ending the war between the two countries.

Iran has sent the US a nuclear proposal via Qatar, to be discussed only after Washington meets seven demands which Tehran has presented, a senior Iranian official said last week.