Kazakhstan has reportedly offered to take custody of Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity if Tehran reaches a new agreement with the United States over its nuclear program, according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi.
Speaking to the Financial Times following meetings in Astana with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Grossi said Kazakhstan had expressed readiness to assume responsibility for Iran’s highly enriched uranium reserves as part of a possible diplomatic arrangement aimed at reducing regional tensions and reviving negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear activities.
The issue of Iran’s uranium enriched to 60 percent remains one of the most sensitive and difficult points in ongoing negotiations involving Washington and Tehran, particularly amid efforts to end the broader confrontation and trade conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
Western powers view the stockpile as a major proliferation concern because enrichment at that level is technically close to weapons-grade material.
US President Donald Trump said Friday that he is preparing to make a “final decision” regarding a possible understanding with Iran aimed at ending the conflict.
Trump outlined several conditions for any agreement, including a guarantee that Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon, the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the removal of naval mines from the strategic waterway. He also called for the destruction of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.
According to a report by Axios, the current memorandum of understanding under discussion does not fully resolve the future of Iran’s nuclear program, which would be addressed in later negotiations.
However, the preliminary framework reportedly includes a commitment by Tehran not to pursue the development of a nuclear bomb.
