The Trump administration is seeking congressional approval for a special package tied to Iran, including a $672 million request for the Energy Department to finance operations that would remove sensitive nuclear materials from Iran and disable related technological infrastructure. According to Fox News, the money would also expand nuclear emergency teams and strengthen smuggling-detection systems.
The request is part of a much larger supplemental aid package worth $80 billion, intended to cover the military campaign. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been briefing lawmakers on the need for the funds, which would cover the cost of the operation known as “Ephic Fury” and replenish ammunition stocks. White House officials said the funding is needed to permanently end Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.
The budget push comes as U.S. and Iranian representatives hold technical talks in Switzerland to turn a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 into a detailed agreement. The talks, led by Vice President JD Vance, focus on oversight of Iran’s nuclear program and the fate of its enriched uranium stockpile.
Under the understanding, Iran agreed to let International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors return to the country for the first time since last year’s airstrikes. Even so, the two sides have not said whether the material will stay in Iran, be moved to a third country, or be destroyed. Iran has also said it will not allow inspectors into the attacked sites. Trump said on social media that “Iran has fully and completely agreed to high-level nuclear inspections into the distant future (infinity!!!),” adding that if it had not, “there would be no further negotiations!”
The formal memorandum says the parties agreed to determine the fate of about 900 pounds of enriched uranium through a mutually agreed mechanism, with the minimum method being on-site dilution under IAEA supervision.
