Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, says Iran has told Russia that its enriched nuclear material will stay in the country, according to Iran's state-linked Nournews. He said Iran needs the material to design nuclear-powered ships and submarines.
"We need enriched materials to design ships and submarines powered by nuclear energy"
Al Jazeera reports that Rezaei rejected a US proposal to transfer Iran's stockpile of 60 per cent enriched uranium to a third country. The comments came in his interview with Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV, published on Tuesday night.
Investing.com says the remarks could dampen hopes of de-escalation.
Nournews also reports Rezaei's claim that Iran has reached an advanced level of cyber warfare capability that lets it take control of US drones and force them to land. That claim has not been independently checked.