In a phone call with President Trump this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed moving Iran's enriched uranium to Russia as part of a deal to end the war.
Trump turned him down, sources tell
Axios.
Why it matters: Securing Iran's 450 kilograms of 60%-enriched uranium — convertible to weapons grade within weeks, and enough for more than 10 nuclear bombs — is one of the U.S. and Israel's key war objectives.
In theory, Putin's offer could help facilitate the removal of Iran's nuclear stockpile without U.S. or Israeli boots on the ground.
Russia is already a nuclear power and previously stored Iran's low-enriched uranium under the 2015 nuclear deal, making it one of the few countries with the technical capacity to accept the material.
Behind the scenes: Putin raised several ideas for ending the war between the U.S. and Iran in his call with Trump on Monday. The uranium proposal was one of them.
"This is not the first time it was offered. It hasn't been accepted. The U.S. position is we need to see the uranium secured," a U.S. official told Axios.
Russia raised similar proposals during U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations last May — before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran's nuclear facilities in June — and in the weeks before the current war began.
