Russia’s foreign minister on Tuesday said that his country is prepared to help Iran replenish its uranium stockpiles, offering Tehran a path to a rebuilt nuclear program in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli campaign to prevent the Islamic Republic from building a bomb.
"Moscow is ready to assist Tehran in refilling its depleted uranium stocks," Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov reportedly said during a meeting with BRICS member nations in Brazil.
"Russia has technological solutions for uranium depletion and is ready to work with Iran in this field," Lavrov said in remarks published by Iran’s state-controlled media. "We have technological capacities and we are ready to offer them, taking the excess of overly enriched uranium and returning the power-generation-grade uranium to the Islamic Republic and its nuclear facilities."
The U.S. and Israeli air campaign destroyed Tehran’s top nuclear sites, including the mountain bunker at Fordow that stored much of the country’s uranium. Russia’s offer to replace the uranium could lay the groundwork for Iran to restart its weapons work.
"Russia’s veiled threat to provide Iran with enriched uranium fuel—most of which was eliminated militarily by the United States and Israel—would help Tehran restore a nuclear weapons breakout capability," Andrea Stricker, a nonproliferation expert with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Washington Free Beacon. "Washington should enumerate the serious consequences Moscow would face for any such action and be prepared to strike Iran again to prevent reconstitution of the regime's atomic weapons program."
Leaders of both the United States and Israel have stated that they are open to further strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure should the Islamic Republic attempt to rebuild its program.
"I will tell you that in my view, I hope it’s over," President Donald Trump said Monday during a meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I think Iran wants to meet. I think they want to make peace, and I’m all for it. Now, if that’s not the case, we are ready, willing, and able."
Israeli officials also indicated in recent days that they are prepared to engage in military action against Iran if the need arises and believe Trump would support such a decision.
Netanyahu said Monday that he would "like to believe Iran will not test [Israel’s] fortitude," adding that "it would be a mistake."
Though Trump has not discussed the potential Russian assistance to Iran, he did pledge on Monday to "send some more weapons to Ukraine" for its fight against Russia, a turnaround after the Pentagon paused shipments of certain weapons last week.
Russia is not the only U.S. adversary to offer Iran assistance after the 12-day war. China reportedly delivered surface-to-air missile batteries shortly after the ceasefire between Israel and Iran began.
The move is part of a broader Iranian effort to "back up and reinforce" the country’s air defenses, which Israel largely destroyed during its strikes, according to Middle East Eye. Iran reportedly paid China for the missiles with shipments of oil.