Trump Downplays Iran's Enriched Uranium Stockpile as 'Not Valuable' at G7 Summit

At a G7 summit press conference in France, President Trump downplayed the strategic importance of securing Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles, claiming the material is 'actually not valuable' and inaccessible to Tehran. He asserted that the 'nuclear dust' is buried deep under rubble following U.S. bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities, stating 'only the U.S. and China have the equipment' to reach it. Trump said his administration is in 'no rush' to take control of the uranium, contradicting earlier stated goals of the Iran military campaign and dismissing concerns from nuclear nonproliferation experts. This represents a significant shift in rhetoric about nuclear nonproliferation priorities following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear program, with experts noting that highly enriched uranium remains one of the most dangerous materials on Earth regardless of accessibility.

“When we have a chance, we'll do it, but in the meantime, we have cameras on every inch of it... it's actually not valuable... the nuclear dust is buried deep under rubble” — Response to questions about the administration's timeline and strategy for securing Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles following U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities