President Donald Trump announced on April 18, 2026, that the United States will obtain enriched uranium from Iran through a proposed alliance with Tehran, stating that American teams will enter Iran with excavators to retrieve what he referred to as “nuclear dust.”
The remarks were made during a speech in Arizona at an event hosted by the conservative organization Turning Point. Trump said Iran had recently declared the Strait of Hormuz fully open for commercial shipping, a claim echoed by Iranian officials who noted the waterway would remain accessible until the end of the current ceasefire with the United States, scheduled for the following Wednesday.
Trump linked the openness of the strait to the potential extraction of uranium, asserting that the material—believed to be buried deep underground following U.S. Airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow and Natanz the previous year—could be recovered only through cooperation with Tehran. He described the substance as highly enriched uranium remnants left buried after the attacks.
The president reiterated that the U.S. Naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place until a comprehensive agreement is signed, despite earlier comments suggesting he had sought NATO assistance for a potential conflict with Iran two months prior, which he said was not forthcoming at the time.
Trump expressed optimism that a final deal with Iran could be reached within one or two days, noting that in-person negotiations might occur over the weekend. This follows his declaration on April 16 that Iran had agreed to hand over enriched uranium residue left after the aerial strikes, a claim Tehran had not immediately confirmed.
He also maintained that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons and has acknowledged this fact, while emphasizing that preventing Tehran from developing such capabilities remains a central goal of U.S. Policy.
The developments come amid a two-week ceasefire approaching its expiration, during which previous U.S. Assertions about Iranian nuclear commitments have reportedly failed to materialize or proven inaccurate.
