On April 17, 2026, President Trump sat down with CBS News and made a statement that would be extraordinary if it were true: “Iran has agreed to almost everything,” including a joint U.S.-Iranian effort to remove all highly enriched uranium from the country. He said it would happen without the United States paying a single dollar. “Not even ten cents,” Trump said.
The same day, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei responded. His words were unambiguous: “Enriched uranium is sacred to us, as is Iranian soil.” He denied that Tehran had agreed to transfer any uranium abroad. He also denied claims that Trump had held direct talks with Iranian officials.
There is no deal. There is no agreement. The president of the United States told a major news network that Iran had capitulated on its core national security asset, and Iran said — publicly, on the record, the same day — that none of it is true.
What Trump Claimed
Iran agreed to “almost everything.” The U.S. and Iran would jointly remove all highly enriched uranium from Iran. The U.S. would not pay anything — “not even ten cents.” He described this as “handing over the keys to Iran’s nuclear kingdom.” He also claimed on Truth Social that the U.S. would obtain all nuclear “dust” “created by our great B2 bombers.”
Trump’s framing was specific and detailed. He wasn’t speaking in generalities. He described a concrete agreement involving the physical removal of enriched uranium — approximately 900 pounds of near-bomb-grade material that remains deeply buried inside Iran after U.S. airstrikes destroyed surface facilities.
What Iran Actually Said
Iran’s response was a flat, public denial from every direction:
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei: “Enriched uranium is sacred to us, as is Iranian soil.” He denied that any proposal for uranium transfer had even been discussed.
Iran International reported that Baghaei also denied claims of any direct talks between Trump and Iranian officials. Middle East Eye quoted Iranian officials saying the enriched uranium is “not going to be transferred anywhere.”
This is not a case of diplomatic ambiguity where both sides could technically be right. Trump said Iran agreed to hand over its uranium. Iran said enriched uranium is as sacred as its soil and no such proposal was discussed. Someone is lying. And the person making the bigger claim — that a country at war agreed to surrender its most strategically valuable asset for free — bears the burden of proof. No proof has been offered.
Why This Matters
Enriched uranium is the entire game. The stated justification for the U.S. war on Iran was preventing Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. If Iran has agreed to give up its enriched uranium, the war’s objective is achieved. If Iran has not agreed — and every public statement from Tehran says it has not — then the war’s objective remains unfulfilled and the president is fabricating progress.
Markets moved on Trump’s claims. Oil prices dropped. Investors adjusted positions. Real money changed hands based on a presidential statement that the other party to the alleged deal publicly denied within hours. This isn’t just a credibility problem. It’s a market manipulation problem. When the president makes claims about wartime diplomacy that move commodity markets and those claims turn out to be false, someone needs to ask who benefits from the price swing.
Sources
- Iran International: Iran FM spokesman Esmail Baghaei denied Tehran agreed to transfer enriched uranium abroad; said “enriched uranium is sacred to us, as is Iranian soil”; denied claims of direct Trump-Iran talks. April 17, 2026.
- CBS News: Trump told CBS Iran “agreed to almost everything” including joint removal of all highly enriched uranium; said U.S. wouldn’t pay “even ten cents”; Iran spokesperson denied all claims same day. April 17, 2026.
- Middle East Eye: Iran says enriched uranium “not going to be transferred anywhere.” April 18, 2026.
- Firstpost / Iran coverage: Iran “punctures” Trump’s nuclear deal claim; FM spokesperson frames uranium as sovereignty issue; sharp contradiction between Washington and Tehran. April 18, 2026.