Iran will not allow enriched nuclear material to leave the country, security chief says

Iran will not allow even a single ​particle of enriched nuclear material to ‌leave the country ​and there will be consequences in the event of any new US strikes on the Islamic Republic, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said in televised remarks.

Rezaei ‌was speaking to Lebanon's pro-Iranian Al Mayadeen TV after US officials downplayed the need for additional military action against Iran, with analysts noting President Donald Trump's more conciliatory tone since the Republicans' defeat in the November 3 midterm elections. Rezaei has said ‌there are currently no negotiations taking place between Tehran and Washington.

"Any new US attacks will also be met ‌with targeting US bases far away," he said. These would include US bases in European countries if they were used to carry out strikes on Iran, he added. Iran's Supreme Leader has issued a directive that the country's near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad, two senior Iranian sources ⁠said ​in May.

"We need the enriched ⁠material to design ships and submarines that work on nuclear energy", Rezaei said, adding that Tehran has informed Moscow that its enriched nuclear material ⁠will remain in the country and "we will use it ourselves". Russia has previously offered to remove uranium from Iran as part of a ​potential deal to ease US concerns but said it was for Tehran to decide whether to remove ⁠it or not.

The IAEA estimates that Iran had 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60% — a level far higher than needed for civilian use — ⁠when ​Israel and the US attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. How much of that has survived is unclear. Israel, the United States and other Western countries have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons. Iran denies ⁠the accusation.

Washington has said nuclear issues must be part of any initial negotiations with Iran aimed at ending the war ⁠between the two countries. Iran has ⁠sent the United States a nuclear proposal via Qatar, to be discussed only after Washington meets seven demands which Tehran has presented, a senior Iranian official told Reuters last week.