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Case 05 · Iranian enriched uranium

Q stayed between 2% and 5% while uranium deal headlines moved the market.

The market traded $20.5 million and moved with each round of uranium deal news. Q’s forecasts stayed focused on the physical constraints and the May 31 deadline.

The call
Market priced
18%
Q forecast
4%
Q took the side
NO
The edge
Every physical path to possession was too slow for the deadline.
Total return if held to resolution
+22.0%
First 7 days
−1.8%
$1,000 at signal
$1,220

Assuming entry at the signal price (82¢ NO), a $1,000 NO position was down 1.8% after the first week and 11.6% at its worst point, then settled at about $1,220 at resolution, before fees, slippage, or liquidity constraints. Q republished NO four more times; the best re-issue, on April 18, returned +30.7%.

How the call developed

Probability the US obtains Iranian enriched uranium by May 31, %

The market rose against the call for four days after the signal, then came around. Q’s line never left 2 to 5 percent, and Q stopped updating on April 23 once the outcome was settled.

Q’s forecastBefore signalPolymarket price
050100Q’s call heldQ123Q begins watchingApr 1Signal publishedApr 13Last Q updateApr 23Resolved NOMay 310255075100Q’s call heldQ123Apr 1Apr 13May 31

Tap a numbered point to read its source.

What Q saw

Q read the physical timeline. Iran sealed the tunnel entrances at Isfahan with soil and debris on March 18, so a forcible recovery meant a multi-week military excavation. Even an agreed transfer required weeks of logistics, and blockade pressure takes months to become coercive. Iran’s position was explicit refusal. The market kept pricing diplomatic headlines. The calendar could not clear.

How Q tested it

Q tracked every path that could put the uranium in US hands before the deadline. None of them could clear in time.

Iran accepts a handover in negotiationsRejected at Islamabad

A diplomatic transfer agreement was the fastest path to YES before May 31.

The US seizes the stockpile by forceBlockade chosen instead

Military custody would satisfy the resolution criteria directly.

A third party takes custodyTrump rejected Putin’s offer

Uranium moved to Russia or the IAEA could arguably trigger possession.

Sources reviewed

Reviewed 114 citations across 43 distinct sources.

Includes satellite-imagery assessment, arms-control analysis, and wire coverage.

IAEAArms Control AssociationCFRReutersNPRAxiosTIMEWaPoNBC
Signal record

Published April 13, 2026. The forecast, evidence, and outcome are preserved in this case study.

Quotient Signals is research and information, not financial advice. Markets involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results.