Iran Says Nuclear-Powered Ships, Submarines Require Enriched Material

Tying enrichment directly to naval propulsion reframes a long-running nonproliferation dispute as a stated military-industrial requirement, which is harder for negotiators to treat as a technical or civilian question. The claim matters most for the IAEA and the remaining parties to any nuclear talks, since naval reactors typically require higher enrichment than power generation, and verification of a ship-based program is unusually difficult. The open question is whether this is presented as a negotiating position or as a settled program, and what inspectors are actually permitted to see.