The United States offered to sell Iran uranium for a civilian nuclear program as part of previous negotiations aimed at ending its war on Iran, but Tehran rejected the proposal, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz stated that American negotiators had put forward the offer to supply the nuclear material directly. Waltz said the proposed arrangement was modeled after the framework established with the United Arab Emirates, which maintains a civilian nuclear program subject to international oversight and inspection regimes without producing enriched uranium domestically or reprocessing spent fuel on its own.
Waltz indicated that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump remains open to allowing Iran to operate a civilian nuclear program, provided Tehran abides by its obligations under international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He added that the administration has considered multiple approaches to ensure Tehran cannot access or reconstitute highly enriched uranium, including requiring Iran to hand over its existing stockpiles of the material.
The disposition of Iran’s current uranium stockpile and the terms governing any future material supply remain central points of dispute between Washington and Tehran. Iranian authorities have consistently asserted that the country’s nuclear efforts are solely for civilian applications, including medical research, scientific development, and power generation.
Estimates indicate Iran holds more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity. Uranium enriched to roughly 90 percent purity is required to manufacture a nuclear weapon. Enriching uranium is a complex technological process that isolates the most radioactive isotopes within the material.
Under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment levels to 3.67 percent under strict international monitoring in exchange for economic sanctions relief. President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA in 2018, characterizing the accord as overly generous to Tehran.
Separately, Trump said earlier this year that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement regarding civilian nuclear energy, though specific terms have not been publicly released and Trump indicated the deal remains contingent on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords. Elsewhere in the region, Pakistan operates a nuclear weapons program openly, while experts widely believe Israel possesses a secret nuclear arsenal. Neither Pakistan nor Israel is a signatory to the NPT.
Sources
Al Jazeera News: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/27/mike-waltz-us-offered-to-sell-iran-uranium-for-civilian-programme?traffic_source=rss
Source: Al Jazeera News
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Story synopsis gathered from: Al Jazeera News — source
