Iran says it has a right to enrich uranium. The US wants the stockpile gone. Here's why

Last updated: May 29, 2026 | 14:50

Satellite image shows the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Planet covered by a new roof at Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. AP

The material weighs less than a small family car. Yet the fate of roughly 440kg of highly enriched uranium may determine whether the United States and Iran can turn a fragile ceasefire into a broader diplomatic agreement.

Weeks of negotiations have brought Washington and Tehran closer to a possible framework that could extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and launch a new phase of talks. But one issue continues to overshadow almost every other discussion: what happens to Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.…