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The US has drawn a hard line in its nuclear negotiations with Iran: destroy your highly enriched uranium first, then we’ll talk about lifting sanctions. Not the other way around.
A US official confirmed that Iran must remove or destroy its stockpile of highly enriched uranium before receiving any form of sanctions relief.
A two-step framework with a 60-day clock
The current negotiations are built around a potential two-step framework. Step one involves an immediate ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. Step two kicks off a 60-day negotiation window covering the scope of Iran’s uranium program, the structure of any sanctions relief, and the release of frozen Iranian funds, previously estimated in the billions from oil sales.
The Trump administration has reportedly indicated that Iran has agreed “in principle” to dispose of its highly enriched uranium as part of any deal. The administration has made clear that relief will be calibrated to actual, verifiable compliance with US security goals, not handed over automatically.
The current posture reflects a deliberate departure from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the JCPOA. That deal capped Iran’s stockpile and enrichment levels — reducing Iran’s uranium stockpile from thousands of kilograms to 300 kg of low-enriched uranium, limiting enrichment to 3.67%, and requiring IAEA monitoring — in exchange for sanctions relief before the US withdrew from it in 2018 under Trump’s first term.
Bipartisan pressure in Congress has reinforced this harder stance. House lawmakers from both parties insisted as far back as June 2025 that any new deal must permanently dismantle Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity, not merely pause or limit it.
Why energy markets are watching closely
Iran sits on some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Under heavy sanctions, Iranian crude has been largely shut out of Western markets. If a deal materializes and sanctions are eased, a meaningful volume of Iranian oil could re-enter global supply chains, likely placing downward pressure on oil prices.
The conditional nature of any relief — tied to verifiable compliance over what could be months or years — means Iranian barrels would not flood the market overnight. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz alone carries its own market weight, as any disruption to that chokepoint has historically sent oil prices spiking.
The crypto angle no one’s talking about
Iran has long been suspected of using cryptocurrency as a tool to circumvent international sanctions. Bitcoin mining operations in Iran, sometimes tacitly permitted by the government, have served as a mechanism to generate hard currency outside the reach of SWIFT and Western financial infrastructure.
If negotiations drag on or collapse entirely, the incentive for Iran to lean on crypto-based workarounds only increases. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned specific crypto wallets tied to Iranian entities.
Every time Iran or another sanctioned nation makes headlines for using crypto to skirt restrictions, it hands ammunition to lawmakers who want tighter controls on digital assets. The outcome of these negotiations could influence the tone and urgency of crypto regulation in Washington for the next several years.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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