US Politics
US weighs plan to unfreeze $20 billion in assets for Iran in exchange for enriched uranium: report
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One of the United States’ reported negotiated proposals to Iran is offering the country access to $20 billion in frozen assets in exchange for more than 900 pounds of its enriched uranium, two unnamed U.S. officials and two additional sources told Axios.
Among various discussions ongoing between the two countries, the U.S. is hoping to prevent Iran from accessing roughly 4,400 pounds (2,000kg) of enriched uranium, 992 pounds (450kg) of which is enriched to 60 percent purity, buried underneath its nuclear facilities.
If true, the reported proposal would mark a significant step toward President Donald Trump’s goal of ensuring Iran cannot access a nuclear weapon – one of his main justifications for going to war.
But it would also be ironic, given the president has been critical of an Obama-era agreement surrounding a $400 million foreign cash payment that the U.S. permitted to Iran.
White House Spokesperson Anna Kelly declined to confirm the validity of the Axios report but said that “productive conversations” with Iran continue.
“Only announcements from President Trump or the White House — not anonymous sources — should be taken as fact. Productive conversations with Iran continue, but we will not negotiate via the press,” Kelly said.
Trump appeared to allude to a similar deal in a Truth Social post Friday morning, though with some key differences to the reported proposal by Axios.
“The U.S.A. will get all Nuclear ‘Dust,’ created by our great B2 Bombers – No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” the president wrote.
The “nuclear dust” in question refers to the highly enriched uranium that was buried underground after the U.S. struck Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025 during Operation Midnight Hammer.
Trump has been highly critical of a 2016 agreement, approved under former President Barack Obama, where the administration approved $1.7 billion payment to Iran, which represented a settlement of a decades-old legal dispute. He has long ripped Obama for the deal and been outspoken about how the money shouldn’t have been handed over.
The first installment of the payment, $400 million, arrived the same day Iran released several American prisoners. At the time, Trump accused Obama of “lying” about the payment not being for ransom.
But Trump’s comments about no money being exchanged “in any way, shape, or form” seemed to throw cold water on reports that the U.S. would give Iran access to those frozen assets.
The U.S. and Iran have reportedly discussed some parts of the proposed plan, including shipping some of the highly enriched uranium to a third country or blending down some of it in Iran under international monitoring.
It’s unclear how or which frozen assets the U.S. would permit Iran to access. Sources told Axios the U.S. had initially offered to release $6 billion for humanitarian reasons, but Iranian officials demanded $27 billion.
U.S., Israeli and Iranian officials may meet for a second round of talks in Islamabad in the coming days, according to a Washington Post report. No official talks have been announced yet.
