Trump Says No Iran Sanctions Relief Even if It Gives Up Enriched Uranium

President Donald Trump said the US would not ease economic sanctions on Iran even if Tehran gives up its highly enriched uranium.

In a phone interview with PBS on May 27, Trump was asked whether current talks involved Iran giving up highly enriched uranium in exchange for sanctions relief. "No. Not at all. There is no sanctions relief," he said.

He also rejected the idea of China or Russia taking custody of Iran's 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, saying that would be "uncomfortable." The remarks suggest Washington would not allow the material to be transferred to countries such as Russia, which maintains relatively close ties with Iran.

The two countries, meanwhile, continued limited clashes. The US military carried out an airstrike on an Iranian military facility and shot down four Iranian attack drones that day, citing threats to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and to US forces. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had launched a retaliatory strike on a US base in the Gulf region.

Park Shin-young, New York correspondent, Hankyung.com, nyusos@hankyung.com