Iran refuses to surrender enriched uranium, threatens to strike US bases in Europe if attacked

ملخص مفصل

Iran refuses to surrender enriched uranium, threatens to strike US bases in Europe if attacked Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 11/11/2026 - 16:40 Security chief Mohsen Rezaei warns…

Iran has no intention of surrendering its enriched nuclear material, which it wants to use to build nuclear-powered submarines, security chief Mohsen Rezaei said on Wednesday, in an apparent rejection of US demands to give up the material for a political settlement.

In an interview with Al Mayadeen TV network, Rezaei said Iran will not allow a “single speck” of enriched uranium to leave the country.

"We need the enriched material to design ships and submarines that work on nuclear energy," Rezaei said, adding that Tehran has informed Moscow that its enriched nuclear material will remain in the country and "we will use it ourselves".

Rezaei’s remarks come a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Iran’s terms for a political settlement “absurd” and stressed that the Trump administration believes its maritime blockade against Iran gives them the upper hand in negotiations.

Rezaei, who has become more prominent in the media in recent months for explaining Iran’s terms, struck a defiant tone in his interview.

“If American aircraft take off from an American military base, even one located in a European country or some other distant region, to bomb Iran, we will strike those bases as well," Rezaei said.

He also said that Iran's response to renewed US attacks would "target America's more distant military installations - including the ones we have not yet attacked", without specifying details.

"We may even strike certain islands that they assume are beyond the reach of our missiles," he added.

Rezaei may be referring to Diego Garcia, the Indian Ocean island where the US has access to a military base. The US is widely believed to have used the base in its February 2026 attack and in the following months.

مطلع المقال، مقتطف من Middle East Eye. لقراءة المقال كاملًا، افتحه على موقع الناشر.