Tehran has no intention to transfer enriched uranium out of the country, Iranian foreign ministry says.
The speaker of Iran’s parliament issued a direct threat to close the Strait of Hormuz again if a U.S. naval blockade continues, marking one of Tehran’s sharpest public warnings since ceasefire negotiations began.
“With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X just after midnight Friday, in a series of posts that also accused U.S. President Donald Trump of making seven false claims “in one hour.”
“They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either,” Qalibaf said.
The parliament speaker said passage through the strait would be conducted only along a “designated route” and with “Iranian authorization.” He warned that whether the waterway remained open “will be determined by the field, not by social media.”
Qalibaf’s comments came as a spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry rejected any possibility of transferring Iran’s enriched uranium to another country, stressing that such an option has never been considered. In comments on Friday, spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei emphasized that Iran’s enriched uranium will under no circumstances be transferred elsewhere.
The U.S. Treasury Department, meanwhile, on Friday extended its temporary waiver on sanctions on Russian oil shipments to ease shortages from the Iran war, days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ruled out such a move. Bessent on Wednesday ruled out extending the waiver. The Trump administration did not immediately explain the reversal.
The renewed waiver issued late Friday permits countries to purchase Russian oil loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16. The earlier waiver expired on April 11.