Russia declines to say if it would accept Iran's enriched uranium as part of a US-Iranian deal

Moscow: The Kremlin on Tuesday declined to comment when asked if Russia was ready to take control of Iran's stocks of enriched uranium as part of a possible future nuclear deal between Iran and the United States.

The Guardian reported that Tehran was expected to reject a US proposal to transfer its stockpile of enriched uranium to a third country such as Russia as part of an agreement that Washington is seeking to scale back Iran's nuclear programme.

When asked at a daily briefing if Russia would accept Iran's uranium reserves and if Tehran had discussed this with Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "I will leave that question without comment."

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran was "fairly close" to acquiring a nuclear weapon and has threatened to bomb it unless it reaches an agreement to prevent that. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Russia, which signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran in January, says Tehran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy and that any use of military force against it would be illegal and unacceptable.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is due to visit Russia this week ahead of a planned second round of talks between Tehran and Washington aimed at resolving the decades-long nuclear stand-off between Iran and the West.

Araqchi held indirect talks in Oman on Saturday with US envoy Steve Witkoff and both sides described them as positive. A second round of talks will be held in Muscat on Saturday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman told state media.

During his 2017-2021 term, Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark deal between Iran and major powers, including Russia, that had placed strict limits on Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

After Trump pulled out in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, Iran breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal's limits on uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy programme.

Western officials fear that if Iran, despite its denials, were to acquire nuclear arms, it could threaten Israel and Gulf Arab oil producers and spark a regional arms race.