By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump told Reuters on Friday that the U.S. will work with Iran to recover its enriched uranium and bring it back to the United States.
“We’re going to get it together. We’re going to go in with Iran, at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery… We’ll bring it back to the United States,” Trump said during a phone interview.
He referred to “nuclear dust” and added that it would be retrieved “very soon.”
Iran denied agreeing to transfer its enriched uranium to the United States.
“Iran’s enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere; transferring uranium to the United States has not been an option for us,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei later told state TV.
Trump’s mention of “nuclear dust” is a reference to what he believes remains after the United States and Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear installations in June last year.
Iran is believed to possess more than 900 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60% purity. The issue of Iran’s nuclear program has been one of the thorniest issues in U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Trump has said a primary reason for the war was to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Iran says its enrichment of uranium – a process that produces fuel for power plants and nuclear warheads depending on its duration – is strictly for peaceful civilian use.
Trump, clearly excited at the prospect of a deal to end the war, said the U.S. will maintain its naval blockade against Iran until an agreement is finalized.
“I think the deal will go very quickly. We’re getting along very well with Iran,” he said.
Trump said more talks will be needed to reach a deal and that these would take place “probably over the weekend.” He added that he “might” go to Islamabad once a deal is made.
“I haven’t made that determination,” he said. Trump also said the United States was working with Iran to remove mines from the strait.
Responding to a report that the United States was considering a $20 billion cash for uranium deal, Trump said: “It’s totally false. No money is changing hands.”
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Katharine Jackson; editing by Michelle Nichols and Alistair Bell)
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