Tehran is prepared to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium if sanctions against Iran are lifted, the head of its atomic energy agency said on Monday after indirect talks with Washington.
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the possibility of diluting 60% enriched uranium "depends on whether all sanctions are lifted in exchange," according to the IRNA news agency.
The statement did not specify whether Eslami was referring to all international sanctions on Iran or only those imposed by the United States, the Telegraph reports.
The offer comes as the location of more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that Iran possessed before last year's conflict with Israel and the US remains unknown.
UN nuclear inspectors last recorded the location of the uranium on June 10, three days before Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
According to a May 2025 International Atomic Energy Agency report, the stockpiles are sufficient to produce nine nuclear weapons if further enriched to 90% weapons-grade levels.
Before the Israeli and US attacks on its nuclear facilities in June last year, Iran had enriched uranium to 60% - far exceeding the 3.67% limit allowed under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Israel attacked dozens of Iranian nuclear facilities, military bases, and infrastructure installations on June 13, 2025, followed by US attacks on the Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities on June 22 using bunker-busting bombs.
The attacks severely damaged Iran's enrichment capabilities. However, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has said that Tehran could resume uranium enrichment within months.
Uranium dilution involves mixing it with blending material to lower the enrichment level below a certain threshold.
Iran is the only non-nuclear state that enriches uranium to 60%, according to the IAEA.
Eslami's statement followed indirect talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman last Friday, the first negotiations since the June conflict.
Both sides agreed to continue negotiations. However, Araghchi warned that "the mistrust that has been created is a serious challenge."
US President Donald Trump has made repeated calls for Iran to accept a complete ban on uranium enrichment, a condition unacceptable to Tehran and far less favorable than the 2015 agreement.
Iran claims it has the right to a civilian nuclear program under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which 191 countries have signed.
Western countries, led by the US, suspect the Islamic Republic is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a claim that Iran has consistently denied. /Telegraph/
