WASHINGTON: Iran nuclear dust handover is a condition for any US agreement with Tehran, a US official told ABC News, referring to highly enriched uranium buried under rubble after airstrikes.
The official said Washington would not make a deal unless Iran handed over the material. The official said the United States also had “low-cost military options” to keep it buried underground.
The official told ABC News that Washington retained military, diplomatic and economic leverage if Iran resisted. “The United States fundamentally has the cards. We want the dust,” the official said.
The official added that there would be no deal with Iran if Washington did not receive the material,
The demand comes as the United States also presses Iran to publicly guarantee that the Strait of Hormuz remains open and that Tehran will not attack commercial ships, AP reported.
ABC News previously reported that President Donald Trump suggested the two sides could work together to remove nuclear material, although the major terms of a possible agreement remained unresolved.
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CBS News reported earlier that Iran had agreed in principle to dispose of highly enriched uranium during negotiations with Washington, while noting that a final agreement still required further negotiation.
The nuclear dispute has remained tied to wider talks over sanctions relief, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and limits on Iran’s nuclear programme.
