Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said his country would not transfer highly enriched uranium outside its territory, adding that Tehran had informed Moscow of the decision.
In an interview with Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen channel, Rezaei said: “We informed our Russian friends that the enriched nuclear materials will remain in Iran and that we will use them ourselves. We need enriched uranium to design nuclear-powered ships and submarines.”
About 440 kilograms enriched to 60%
The fate of highly enriched uranium is one of the main points of disagreement between Washington and Tehran in any potential agreement, whether through transferring it abroad or reducing its enrichment level inside Iran. Iran has a stockpile of about 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, while its storage location is unknown.
During negotiations with Washington before the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, Iran had agreed to reduce its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Warning to US bases
Regarding tensions with the United States, Rezaei said Iran would respond “without regard to geographical boundaries” if Washington carried out its threats, adding: “Any new US attack will be met by targeting US bases, including those farther away.”
Rezaei also said Iran had seized several US drones during the war, asserting that his country had reached an advanced level in electronic warfare that enabled it to take control of US aircraft and bring them down safely. He also addressed messages exchanged between the two countries through intermediary states.
US bases in Europe also targeted
In the same interview with Al Mayadeen, Rezaei went further, saying Iran might also target some US military bases in European countries, as well as “some islands” that Washington believes Iranian missiles cannot reach. He added: “If the Americans make the mistake of attacking, we will not limit ourselves to nearby bases; we will also target US bases in distant areas,” stressing that a war that breaks out after any attack would not be short.
Rezaei urged countries hosting US bases not to cooperate with any US military attack on Iran, expressing Tehran’s desire to establish a joint union with the Gulf states encompassing economic and security cooperation.
Photos: Anadolu (cover), Wikimedia Commons. Sources: Anadolu, Al Mayadeen channel.
