Iran will not allow its enriched uranium to be transferred out of the country, according to Mohsen Rezaei, a top Iranian security official, potentially complicating efforts to de-escalate tensions with the United States.
Rezaei, in an interview with a Lebanese television outlet cited by Al Jazeera, emphasized that Tehran would continue to reject an American ceasefire proposal that would involve Iran sending its stockpile of enriched uranium to a third country. Iran has informed Russia of this decision, Rezaei noted. Russia had previously offered to take in and store the enriched uranium.
Oil prices moved higher on Wednesday following Rezaei's remarks, after crude had touched two-month lows in the previous session. Markets have been speculating that the U.S. will move to ratchet down the war with Iran in the wake of last week's midterm elections. Democrats routed President Donald Trump's Republicans in several statewide races, with voters often citing frustration that the Iran conflict has contributed to a sharp rise in gasoline prices and elevated inflation overall.
Investors have been assessing whether the Democrats will use their influence to push Trump to quickly end the war, which is now in its ninth month. Trump himself has offered more conciliatory language regarding Iran, signaling earlier this week that he would like to find an end to the war. Still, Trump has warned that the U.S. is "locked and loaded," while describing Iran's military as "effectively over."
Meanwhile, attacks have continued to target vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. On Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre, which monitors global shipping traffic, said it had received a report of an incident involving a tanker in Hormuz. The status of the crew, damage assessment, and environmental impact were unknown, the UKMTO said.
Previously, the group reported that a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman. Three tankers also reportedly caught fire in Hormuz over the weekend. Adding to tensions in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels are engaged in continued fighting, with the Houthis targeting a key Saudi pipeline.