ISTANBUL

A senior Iranian official denied Monday any plans to transfer Iran’s enriched uranium to any other country.

“Iranian officials have no intention of transferring enriched nuclear material abroad,” Ali Bagheri, the deputy for foreign policy at the Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in comments carried by the state news agency IRNA.

“Negotiations are not basically focused on such an issue,” he added.

The Kremlin repeated its offer on Monday to process or store Iran’s enriched uranium, in a bid to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington.

“This topic has been on the agenda for a long time," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Russia has been offering ‌its services for quite a long time as a possible option that would lead to the removal of certain irritants for a number ⁠of countries.”

Tension has heightened between Tehran and Washington since the outbreak of anti-government protests in Iran in late December, with the American military fleet reportedly heading toward the region, as announced by President Donald Trump.

Trump confirmed that a large US “armada” was en route to the region, warning Iran to enter negotiations over its nuclear program or face potential military action.

In recent days, there has been intense diplomatic activity, with several regional countries – including Turkiye – intervening to ease tensions between the two nations.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul