The fate of highly enriched uranium in Iran remained uncertain on Wednesday after U.S. and Iranian officials agreed to a two-week cease-fire, bringing 40 days of war to a pause.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, estimated in a February report that Iran had about 440 kilograms, or about 970 pounds, of highly enriched uranium as of June 2025. Experts say that material could be used to develop a small number of nuclear bombs.
While the cease-fire deal did not appear to address the uranium issue, Iran and the United States could discuss it during talks that Pakistani mediators were pressing both sides to attend in the coming days.
President Trump has vowed to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. On Wednesday, he wrote on social media that the United States would work with Iran to dig up the “Nuclear ‘Dust,’” saying it was deeply buried because of American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The comment was an apparent reference to the enriched uranium.
Later on Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that Iran would give up the uranium but also suggested that the United States could send Special Operations troops to seize the material.
“If we have to, we can do it in any means necessary,” he told a news conference.
Last week, Mr. Trump implied that the United States could accept some scenario in which the enriched uranium stayed in Iranian territory.
Speaking at the White House, Mr. Trump said Iran’s nuclear sites had been hit so hard in war that it would take months “to get near the nuclear dust.” He said that the United States had the sites under “intense satellite surveillance” and would strike them again if Iran moved to extract the material.
Some former Israeli security officials said that Israelis were concerned that the cease-fire could hold beyond two weeks without an agreement to ensure the highly enriched uranium was removed from Iran.
“This fear exists,” said Brig. Gen. Eran Ortal, a former Israeli military official.
Other former Israeli security officials expressed confidence that if Mr. Trump makes a deal with Iran during the cease-fire, the agreement would ensure the removal of the uranium because that was a top priority for both the United States and Israel.
Even if Iran’s leadership loses access to the material, the country could turn to allies like North Korea for help obtaining a nuclear weapon, General Ortal noted.
“If the Iranians decide the only thing that will protect the regime is a nuclear weapon, especially after being incapable of defending themselves during the war, they have pathways to that beyond the 440 kilograms,” he said.
“The central question,” he added, “is, ‘What will the determination of the United States and the world be to prevent them from going down that path?”
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
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