White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Iran has signaled a willingness to hand over enriched uranium as part of ongoing negotiations with the United States.
Speaking during a White House press conference, Leavitt said stripping Iran of its uranium is “on the top of the priority list” for President Donald Trump as negotiations with Iran continue after reaching a two-week ceasefire agreement Tuesday.
When asked if Iran has given any signs it was willing to turn over its uranium, Leavitt said, “They have, yes.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed a similar assessment during a Pentagon briefing earlier in the day, saying that Iran will give its uranium to the U.S. “voluntarily.”
Trump has said the ceasefire deal includes a stipulation that Tehran will no longer pursue uranium enrichment, which is a critical process to developing nuclear weapons. Preventing Iran from building up a nuclear program has been a primary goal of the U.S.-Israeli operation.
Iranian state media, however, reported that Tehran has not agreed to a ceasefire that includes ending uranium enrichment or handing over its stockpile.
“In this plan, America fundamentally commits to guaranteeing non-aggression, continuing Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, accepting enrichment, lifting all primary and secondary sanctions,” the Supreme National Security Council said.
The U.S. laid out a 15-point peace plan, while Iran sent a 10-point proposal during the negotiations, which were brokered by Pakistan. The agreement was reached shortly before a deadline set by Trump for “complete demolition” of Iranian energy infrastructure.
Israel, which has also played a major role in the war against Iran, was not included in peace negotiations and has since continued military operations in Lebanon. The attacks have focused on the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, and both the U.S. and Israel have said Lebanon was not a part of the ceasefire negotiations.
US AND IRAN AGREE TO TWO-WEEK CEASEFIRE AFTER TRUMP ACCEPTS ‘WORKABLE’ 10-POINT PLAN
Iranian state media has said the country has closed the Strait of Hormuz, once again halting the passage of ships carrying oil, as had been the case for much of the war. The White House, though, has cast doubt on public comments from Iran.
“With respect to the first reporting out of Iranian state media, the president was made aware of those reports before I came to the podium,” she said during a Wednesday briefing, referring to the state media reports that Iran closed the strait due to Israel’s continued attacks on Hezbollah. “That is completely unacceptable. And again, this is a case of what they’re saying publicly is different.”
Both the U.S. and Iran had agreed on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran said it wanted to do so under its own conditions.