Trump touts uranium deal as Iran vows its stockpile will never leave country (PHOTOS/VIDEOS): As it happened

Iran told mediators it would continue to limit the number of ships allowed to cross the Strait of Hormuz and charge tolls for the remainder of the ceasefire, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.

Most ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz have been turning back, according to recent data from maritime tracking services.

Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, told CNBC that several tankers and cargo ships attempted to exit via the route designated by Iran around Larak Island but then suddenly reversed course.

US President Donald Trump reiterated his intention to seize Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. Speaking at a Turning Point USA conference in Phoenix, Arizona, he said the US would use “lots of excavators” to recover the radioactive material.

“But we’re going to go in together with Iran. We’re going to get it. We’re going to take it back home to the USA very soon,” he said.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s delegation in talks with the US, said the Strait of Hormuz “would not remain open” as long as Washington continues to blockade Iran’s ports.

“Passage through the strait will be conducted along designated routes and with Iranian authorization,” he added.

Ghalibaf’s statement appears to contradict US President Donald Trump, who said earlier that Iran had agreed to reopen the vital shipping route.

Screenshot ©  Social media

READ MORE: Middle East war triggering global energy ‘shock’ – IMF

The IMF has said that “oil‑producing countries in the Americas are benefiting from high energy prices,” but warned that in other countries the Middle East conflict is having “clearly negative” effects on economic activity and living standards, particularly for heavily indebted net energy importers.

IRGC spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari has said Iran “has not pursued nuclear weapons and is not pursuing them,” adding that the country “seeks peace with dignity” and will “firmly defend our territorial integrity and principles.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has reportedly rejected Trump’s claim that Tehran agreed to send its enriched uranium to the US. “Enriched uranium is as sacred to us as Iranian soil and will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances,” he said, as quoted by Tasnim news agency.

Journalist and international relations expert Elham Abedini has told RT that “Iran is the only actor, the only power who can guarantee the security and stability” of the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that any US effort to “open” the waterway by force would only work in the short term and further raise energy prices.  

Abedini said recent ship movements “with the permission of Iran and with the conditions of Iran” show who really controls the strait, adding that “even traditional US allies” are refusing to join a “military coalition” against Tehran and that it would be “more logical” for companies to pay tolls to Iran than rely on Western naval pressure.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has released footage it says shows US forces enforcing the naval blockade, stating on X the operation is ongoing.

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What everyone got wrong about the Iran-US talks in Islamabad

The Trump administration is weighing a “renewed diplomatic push” that could send senior US officials back to Pakistan within days to resume talks with Iran, CBS has reported, citing sources familiar with the deliberations. Vice President J.D. Vance is reportedly being considered for a return trip to Islamabad, possibly alongside Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, as Washington seeks to revive back‑channel negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program and conditions for ending the war that was launched by the US and Israel in late February.