A new country is on the line. Iran's Uranium is the hardest knot

Kazakhstan has entered the Iranian nuclear crisis after proposing to maintain Iran's stockpile of 60 percent highly enriched uranium if Tehran and Washington reach an agreement on its nuclear program, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told the Financial Times.

 Grossi, who met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana this week, said the Central Asian country had shown its willingness to take responsibility for Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a move that was the first of its kind since the crisis began.

Uranium. Iran Negotiating Paper

Although much of Iran's uranium enrichment infrastructure was destroyed or severely damaged during attacks by Israel and the United States last June, Reuters reports indicate that a large amount of highly enriched uranium has not been affected by the strikes, which is Washington's biggest concern ahead of the resumption of nuclear talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran should agree to allow the U.S. to "extract" enriched uranium buried underground after previous U.S. strikes and destroy it in coordination with Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

According to Axios, the proposed memorandum of understanding does not decide the future of Iran's nuclear program, but it does include an Iranian commitment not to seek to acquire a nuclear weapon, with technical details to be discussed later.

Iran's stockpile of uranium. Alarming Numbers

Iran has not informed the IAEA of the fate of its stockpile of enriched uranium since the June attacks, nor has it allowed inspectors to return to the sites where it was stored. The IAEA estimates that at the time of the start of the attacks on June 13, Iran possessed:

440.9 kg enriched up to 60%

184.1 kg enriched up to 20%

6024.4 kg enriched up to 5%

2391.1 kg enriched up to 2%

The IAEA says that 60% enrichment is enough to make 10 nuclear weapons, while 20% is enough to make one weapon, and a 5% stockpile could yield up to 12 weapons.

But what survived the attacks remains unclear, Grossi said, adding that the agency believes "just over 200 kilograms" of 60 percent enriched uranium stored inside a tunnel complex in Isfahan was not significantly damaged, adding that another part was located at the Natanz nuclear site.