Iran Refuses to Send Uranium Abroad and Keeps the Strait of Hormuz Closed

Iran reaffirmed that it will not send enriched uranium abroad and will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. Negotiations with the United States remain at a standstill.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in a state television interview on Nov. 11 that Iran will not transfer its uranium. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated the same position on Nov. 9.

The United States wants Iran to hand over its highly enriched uranium and accept limits on its nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimated that before the June 2025 U.S. and Israeli strikes, Iran held 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent.

The Strait of Hormuz is also unresolved. Iran demands the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian funds and an end to military operations in the region before it reopens the strait.

Iran said it shortened its proposed timetable for reopening the strait from seven days to two days, but that schedule depends on reciprocal U.S. steps. Rezaei said reports of a meeting between Iranian and American representatives in Qatar were not true and that no negotiations are currently taking place.

On Wednesday night, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that two oil tankers struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire. The claim has not been independently confirmed.

Oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday but fell again in Asian trading on Thursday. Brent crude fell 1.58 percent to $91.29 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate fell 1.43 percent to $85.29 a barrel.