Iran Says It Will Keep All Enriched Nuclear Material at Home for Naval Projects
Iran’s top security official says enriched nuclear material will stay inside the country and be used for nuclear-powered ships and submarines, a position Tehran says it has already conveyed to Russia. The stance narrows room for any deal based on shipping material abroad.
Iran’s leadership has drawn a clear line on its nuclear program, saying enriched material will no longer be removed from the country and will instead be used for domestic projects, including nuclear-powered vessels.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Mohsen Rezaei, said Tehran will not remove even a single particle of enriched nuclear material from Iran. He stated that Iran has informed its Russian counterparts that enriched materials will remain on Iranian soil and will be used by Iran itself.
According to Rezaei, the stated purpose of retaining this material is to design nuclear-powered ships and submarines. Naval propulsion reactors are presented by Iran as a legitimate use of enriched nuclear fuel, framed as part of a broader effort to expand technological capabilities.
A separate report from the outlet Mayadeen carried a similar message from Iran that it will not remove enriched nuclear material from the country. Both statements reinforce Tehran’s public position that any future arrangements will have to work around, rather than rely on, exporting enriched stockpiles.
Rezaei has also claimed that Iran has reached an advanced level in electronic warfare, saying the country can take control of American drones and land them intact. That assertion, combined with the firm stance on enriched material, points to an effort to underline Iran’s leverage in both military technology and the nuclear field.
The comments land at a moment when regional security worries are already visible in energy markets. European natural gas futures have risen above €85 per megawatt-hour amid conflict-related uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy shipments.
Whether Iran follows through with concrete work on nuclear-powered ships and submarines, how Russia and other partners publicly respond to this declared policy, and how international inspectors are allowed to monitor enriched material inside Iran will shape the next phase of nuclear diplomacy.
Sources
- OSINT