Iran rules out uranium transfer, condemns US $20M nuclear reward

Iran will not allow any enriched nuclear material to leave the country, its security chief said Wednesday, as Tehran condemned a U.S. offer of up to $20 million for information about its nuclear program amid diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Security chief Mohsen Rezaei told Lebanon’s pro-Iranian Al Mayadeen television that Iran would not permit even a single particle of enriched nuclear material to be sent abroad. He also warned of retaliation against any renewed U.S. strikes.

"Any new U.S. attacks will also be met with targeting U.S. bases far away," he said.

Rezaei said no negotiations were currently taking place between Tehran and Washington. His remarks followed U.S. officials’ efforts to downplay the need for additional military action, with analysts noting President Donald Trump’s more conciliatory tone since Republicans’ defeat in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi Wednesday urged the United Nations and its nuclear watchdog to condemn Washington’s reward offer, calling it "repugnant and regrettable."

The U.S. military said Friday that up to $20 million and "possible relocation" were available for information about Iran’s nuclear "facilities, equipment, and associated personnel."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran calls upon the U.N. Secretary-General, the Security Council, and the Director General of the IAEA to condemn this repugnant announcement explicitly and unequivocally," Araghchi wrote in a letter addressed to all three.

He reiterated Iran’s position that its nuclear program is peaceful. Israel, the United States and other Western countries have long accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons, an allegation Iran denies.

The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that Iran held 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% – far above the level needed for civilian use – when Israel and the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. How much of that stockpile survived remains unclear.

Two senior Iranian sources said in May that Iran’s supreme leader had issued a directive barring the transfer of the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium abroad.

Trump has repeatedly said Iran’s nuclear program was effectively obliterated by brief U.S. strikes on key facilities during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025.

Since that conflict, Iran has blocked IAEA inspectors from visiting the bombed facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

The current war began Feb. 28, when U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian nuclear sites were struck again during the war’s most intense phase, but the extent of the damage remains unclear.

Diplomatic efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan have sought to negotiate an end to the conflict, with Tehran and Washington at odds over when nuclear issues should be addressed.

Washington says they must be part of any initial negotiations to end the war. Araghchi has said discussions of Iran’s nuclear program would come at a later stage.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters last week that Tehran had sent Washington a nuclear proposal through Qatar, but that it would be discussed only after the United States met seven Iranian demands.

Those demands include unfreezing Iranian assets and lifting sanctions in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the vital energy shipping route Iran has blockaded since the conflict began.

Iran’s nuclear program has been a source of international tension for years. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from an agreement negotiated under President Barack Obama that imposed limits on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.