U.S. reportedly proposed $20bn asset release to Iran for uranium stockpile; Tehran says major gaps remain

American negotiators told Iranians it would give the Islamic regime access to $20 billion in frozen assets if Tehran hands over its stockpile of fissile material, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing officials familiar with the negotiations. 

The U.S. proposal was also reported earlier in the day by the Axios outlet. 

The officials told WSJ that Iran has neither dismissed nor accepted the proposal at this point.

An Iranian official told Reuters that "serious differences" remain between the sides on the nuclear issue, requiring further negotiations. He floated the idea that an interim deal may be reached with further negotiations down the line. 

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the conditions of the U.S. offer would include all of Iran’s fissile-material stockpile, which includes medium- and low-enriched uranium. 

Also on Friday, a senior IDF official said that the Iranian regime was dealt severe blows by Israel and the U.S., yet it has the potential to restock its arsenal of ballistic missile and even relaunch its nuclear program, which could necessitate another military intervention in the future.

The most troubling aspect is that even after the severe blows it was dealt throughout the campaign, Iran still has many centrifuges left. Therefore, the IDF believes, the removal of the enriched uranium is an issue of existential importance. Iran has the capability to enrich uranium to a military grade of 90% and close in on a nuclear weapon.