Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Wednesday that Iran must surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of the current ceasefire agreement or face possible new American military action.
Speaking at a Pentagon press briefing, Hegseth said Iran will give the material to the United States voluntarily or the U.S. reserves the right to act in a manner similar to last summer’s joint strikes with Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “We reserve that opportunity,” he stated.
Hegseth emphasized that the United States is closely monitoring the buried uranium sites through surveillance and expects full compliance with ceasefire terms. President Donald Trump has also pushed for the removal of the enriched uranium, suggesting the U.S. could work with Iran to dig up and secure the deeply buried material while insisting there will be no further enrichment activities going forward.
Iran has not publicly confirmed any agreement to hand over the stockpile.
The enriched uranium issue has emerged as a central point of tension in the fragile two-week ceasefire that was announced late Tuesday after Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials consider preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability a non-negotiable demand.
Much of Iran’s remaining highly enriched uranium is believed to be stored at hardened or underground locations following earlier strikes.
During the same briefing, Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine declared that the nearly six-week U.S. and Israeli military campaign had delivered a decisive victory against Iran.
They said the operation had severely degraded Iran’s military capabilities, leaving its forces no longer posing a significant threat to the region or U.S. interests. Hegseth noted that Iran had only managed to shoot down two U.S. jets during the conflict and described that as Iran getting lucky once in forty days, while stressing that American forces now control the skies over Iran.
Gen. Caine outlined the extensive damage inflicted on Iranian infrastructure, including widespread strikes that destroyed much of the country’s air defense network and weapons production facilities as well as the sinking of the majority of its regular naval fleet.
He added that the U.S. military stands ready to resume operations if the ceasefire collapses or if Iran fails to meet its obligations, particularly regarding the nuclear program.
Hegseth said the Pentagon has done its part for now but will remain prepared in the background to ensure all reasonable terms are upheld. He praised the bravery of American troops and stated that nobody makes a better deal than President Trump.
Despite the ceasefire announcement, tensions remain high in the region.
On Wednesday morning, Kuwait reported a large-scale series of Iranian drone attacks that targeted power stations, water desalination plants, and other vital infrastructure.
Kuwait’s defense ministry described the strikes as evidence of Iran’s determination to continue threatening the security of Gulf states even after the pause in major hostilities was declared.
The situation continues to develop rapidly, with the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile likely to play a key role in whether the ceasefire holds or leads to renewed conflict in the coming days.
