In 90-Minute Call, Putin Offers Trump Help With Iran's '11-Tonne' Uranium

Over the past eight years, after Trump, during his first term as president, pulled Washington out of a nuclear deal with Tehran, Iran has reportedly accumulated 22,000 pounds, or 11 tonnes, of enriched uranium.

30 Apr 2026, 05:55 · NDTV

Show
Quick Read
Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed

Russian President Putin offered to help Trump with Iran's uranium enrichment issue during a call
Trump declined Russia's help, urging Putin to focus on ending the Ukraine war instead
Iran has amassed 11 tonnes of enriched uranium since the US left the nuclear deal in 2018

Did our AI summary help?
Let us know.
Switch To Beeps Mode
Washington:

US President Donald Trump has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to help him with Iran's "enrichment" during a phone call between the two leaders, presumably in reference to the proposed removal of the enriched uranium from the Islamic Republic. The US leader, however, claims he declined the help and responded that he'd rather his Russian counterpart end the war on Ukraine.

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also said that Moscow remains open to removing the uranium stockpile from Iran, a critical component of nuclear weapon development.

Trump has cited Iran's "nuclear dust", his term for the enriched uranium, as his main reason for starting a war against Tehran's Islamic regime, which has now stretched for over 60 days. He has insisted that Tehran would not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

"We're not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon," he said, adding that the US had significantly degraded Iran's military capabilities.

ALSO READ: "Next Stop $140": Iran Speaker Ghalibaf's Big Warning As Oil Prices Reach Historic High

How Much 'Nuclear Dust' Iran Has

Over the past eight years, after Trump, during his first term as president, pulled Washington out of a nuclear deal with Tehran, Iran, according to a New York Times report, has accumulated 22,000 pounds, or 11 tonnes, of enriched uranium.

But the fate of the Iranian stockpile remains a mystery. The IAEA believes the majority of the stockpile is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, which was bombarded by airstrikes in June last year and faced less intense attacks in this year's US-Israeli attacks.

Citing satellite images, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi earlier this week said the nuclear watchdog believes a large percentage of Iran's highly enriched uranium "was stored there in June 2025 when the 12-day war broke out, and it has been there ever since."

"We haven't been able to inspect or to reject that the material is there and that the seals --the IAEA seals--remain there," he said. "I hope we'll be able to do that, so what I tell you is our best estimate."

ALSO READ: 'Can Get Heart Attack': Iran Touts New Weapon After Trump Rejects Peace Plan

Problem Over Iran's Uranium Stockpile

Uranium can build and destroy cities. In low concentrations, it can be used to make electricity, but at high concentrations, it turns into the most destructive weapon. Iran has enriched its uranium stockpile to near weapons-grade levels, even as Tehran insists the programme is only for civilian purposes.

Per IAEA, Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. Uranium's enrichment becomes increasingly easy as concentrations rise. It's much harder to get from zero per cent to 20 per cent than from 20 per cent to 60 per cent or even to 90 per cent -- the preferred level for making nuclear arms.

Iran started the uranium enrichment process in 2006 on an industrial scale, insisting its aim was peaceful. Reports from the IAEA showed the stockpile kept growing over the years. In 2010, Tehran announced it would begin enriching uranium up to 20 per cent --ostensibly to make fuel for a research reactor. This level is the official dividing line between civilian and military uses.

The 20 per cent enrichment was alarming for the world because it was about 80 per cent of the way to bomb-grade fuel.

Amid concerns over a growing stockpile, the Obama administration decided to act. In 2015, six nations led by the United States signed an accord with Iran that limited the purity of Tehran's enriched uranium to 3.67 per cent and the size of its stockpile for 15 years.

ALSO READ: Putin's "Extremely Damaging Consequences" Warning To Trump In 90-Minute Call

Under the deal, Tehran restricted the size of its stockpile to under 660 pounds. By 2018, Iran lacked a single bomb's worth of uranium, and the Trump administration at the time decided to withdraw the United States from the pact.

Outside of the deal, Iran began enriching above the set limit. Just before Trump left office in 2020, Iran had enriched its stockpile to 20 per cent in early 2021.

The incoming Biden administration unsuccessfully tried to restore aspects of the abandoned deal. But as the negotiations moved forward, so did Iran's enrichment levels, which reached up to 60 per cent, 40 per cent shy of the preferred grade for atom bombs.

The IAEA said Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium grew at the fastest rate after Trump returned to the Oval Office in 2025. After the US and Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran in June 2025, Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA, ending the monitoring of the nation's enrichment sites.

Iran is a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, whose five-year review is underway at UN headquarters. Under its provisions, Iran is required to open its nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection. But, in the absence of on-site inspections, satellite monitoring remains the only way to keep an eye on Iran's activities. And therefore, the location of the 11-tonne stockpile remains uncertain.

Show full article

Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world