US officials weigh two face-saving options for Iran to dispose of its enriched uranium

WASHINGTON — US officials are discussing possible ways for Iran to dispose of its highly enriched uranium without directly handing it off to Washington, The Post has learned. 

An initial memorandum of understanding, which could be finalized by the end of this week, would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and confirm an agreement in principle by Tehran to cease future nuclear enrichment. A tense second round of talks would then focus on dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.

One option floated inside the Trump administration would have Iran deliver the nearly 1,000 pounds of near-weapons-grade uranium to Pakistan, Turkey, Russia or China — for possible onward transfer to the US, a national security official said Monday.

“We are trying to land on language that allows both sides to save face, and that’s how deals like this are done,” this person explained.

“The president would still ideally like it to eventually wind up with the United States, but there are interim options being discussed as well. [And] they could turn into permanent options.”

A second option under discussion would allow Iran to heavily dilute and keep the uranium — under the theory that its refinement facilities are so badly damaged by Operation Epic Fury that further enrichment would be impossible without detection.

The dilution option would require strict international oversight, which itself would be subject to additional negotiatiom.

“This is one of the things that is going to be worked out in the second track,” the official said.

“I don’t think they want to hand it over — [and] the biggest thing is they don’t want to hand it over to the United States directly.”

The insider added that “it is likely that the first part of the deal is done here soon, but the longer negotiations go on, the more likely you will have outside spoilers try to undermine the agreement.”

“As President Trump said, negotiations with Iran are proceeding nicely, and he has made his redlines clear,” White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement. “Anything attributed to unnamed, anonymous, and uninformed sources who are not part of the inner circle who actually know what’s going on should be considered baseless speculation — all announcements regarding a potential deal will come from the President or administration directly.”

A different senior administration official hinted at Tehran’s interest in avoiding a direct delivery of nuclear material to the US in a Sunday briefing with a small group of journalists.

That official said Iran had “national pride considerations” at play.

“There is a political value in the United States to getting it. There is obviously a political value in the Iranians not handing it over to the United States,” they said.

“A lot of the debate is not really what happens to the stockpiled material, but it’s how the Iranians can sell it to their own hardliners and to their own population in a way that gets us what we need as well.”

That official emphasized: “No one disputes that the stockpiled enriched material will be disposed of. It’s a question about how — and then simultaneously, while we’re figuring out that question of how, we’re going to have this thing where the Strait opens, the [US] blockade is lifted, [and] we get the economy some breathing room.”

The war started with a joint US-Israeli attack on Feb. 28 that killed longtime Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and left his wounded son Mojtaba in charge of the beleaguered theocracy, which had in January killed thousands of anti-regime protesters.

Trump has prioritized a deal that ends Iran’s nuclear program, while Israel favors a further crippling of its arch-enemy.

Republican senators over the weekend pushed back on the potential phased-in deal, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) calling the reported framework a “nightmare for Israel.”

Trump, meanwhile, has pushed back on the notion that he would walk away from the war without achieving his nuclear aims, including disposal of the uranium and a years-long commitment by Iran not to enrich further.

The White House said Sunday Iran would gain no sanctions relief without first handing over nuclear material, summing up the US position as, “No dust, no dollars.”

“Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely!” Trump said in a statement on Truth Social early Monday.

“It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!”

In a speech at Arlington National Cemetery to mark Memorial Day, the president declared again that “the world’s number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon.”

Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said Monday that “it is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion … But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in India that discussions were “still a work in progress.”

“We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits,get the straits opened,” Rubio said. “It’s a very real, significant time limit of negotiation on the nuclear matter, and hopefully we can pull it off. It has a lot of support in the Gulf. There’s a lot of support globally, every country that we’ve walked through it. Understand it’s not just very reasonable, but it’s the right thing for the world to get done.

“The president said he’s not in a hurry.  He’s not going to make a bad deal, and the president’s not going to make a bad agreement.  So let’s see what happens.  We’re going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we explore the alternatives.”