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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a state visit to China on Wednesday that Iran has an “inalienable” right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, according to the Times of Israel.
“The right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes is an inalienable right of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Lavrov said during a press conference Tuesday after a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the Times of Israel.
Access to the said uranium has been a difficult challenge for US President Donald Trump in the ongoing peace talks with Iran.
“There will be no enrichment of uranium,” Trump wrote in an April 8 post on Truth Social. He also said the US would work with Iran to dig up all remaining nuclear material in the country to ensure the Islamic Republic does not have access to any uranium.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking at a news conference in Beijing, China. 15 April 2026. (Russian Foreign Ministry)
Vice President J.D. Vance, who led the U.S. delegation during Saturday’s talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, doubled down on that red line.
“The enriched uranium that the Iranians currently have, we have said we would like to have it come to our country, and we would like to have possession of it,” Vance told Fox News’ Brett Baier on Monday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a bilateral meeting in Beijing, China. 15 April 2026. (Russian Foreign Ministry)
“The President does not want to leave the next President or the President after that to worry about this program, so we would like to get that material completely out of the country so that the United States has control over it.
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Despite the tough US stance, Russia’s top diplomat appeared to openly defy the US demand, speaking out in strong terms against what he saw as US global control.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting in Beijing, China. 15 April 2026 (Russian Foreign Ministry)
“Neither China, nor Russia, nor most countries around the world can accept this approach,” Lavrov said in comments posted on a Russian state website.
According to Vance, peace talks stalled in Iran due to its refusal to completely abandon its nuclear program. Nuclear experts praised the decision.
Andrea Stryker, deputy director of the nonproliferation program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital, “Once it became clear that the Iranians would not agree to Washington’s core nuclear demands, the U.S. team was wise to walk away. Tehran has rich uranium reserves and uranium enrichment capabilities, providing it with a simple and straightforward path to nuclear weapons.”
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Fox News Digital contacted the US State Department and the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News Digital’s Benjamin Wenthal contributed to this report.
