Iran says "not a single atom" of enriched uranium will leave, and oil rebounds from a two-month low

Iran will not let any enriched nuclear material leave the country, the secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said Wednesday, adding that Tehran had told Moscow so, RFE/RL reported. Oil bounced on the comments after touching a two-month low a day earlier.

What Rezaei said

Speaking to Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV, in excerpts released before the full interview, Rezaei said Iran "will not remove a single atom of enriched nuclear material," per RFE/RL. Russia has often been floated as a possible destination for the stockpile. RFE/RL notes that Rezaei met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Nov. 5; it does not describe a current Russian proposal.

Rezaei also denied that talks with Washington are under way, calling reports of a recent Qatar meeting "pure lies" meant to push oil lower, RFE/RL said. Washington's stated position, per Reuters, is that nuclear issues must be part of any initial negotiation to end the war. The IAEA estimated Iran held 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60% before the June 2025 strikes, and inspectors cannot verify how much survived or where it is, RFE/RL reports. That is the figure at the heart of the dispute.

The other side has been softer. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after a G7 meeting on Tuesday that the economic campaign is "so devastating that right now there is no need for major combat operations," and President Trump said Monday the war was "effectively over" militarily, per RFE/RL. We covered Rubio's remarks here.

Oil: bounce, not reversal

Reuters, via RTE, reported Brent up $1.22, or 1.3%, to $92.71 and WTI up $1.09 to $87.13 in the afternoon; the report does not name contract months. Our own reading at 10:08 a.m. ET, from Yahoo Finance, was WTI December at $87.70 and Brent front month at $93.34, against Tuesday closes of $86.04 and $91.49 (up 1.9% and 2.0%, our arithmetic). Reuters says both benchmarks are still down about 21% (Brent) and 17% (WTI) since the start of November on hopes the war ends.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo told Reuters oil is "being supported by fading hopes of an imminent de-escalation." The physical picture also matters. The Washington Institute counts 37 ships attacked in October, the most in a month since the war began, Reuters reports. Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said two tankers caught fire after hitting mines on an "unauthorised route," and UKMTO reported another tanker struck off Oman on Tuesday. LSEG Oil Research notes that even with a deal, more flow through Hormuz depends on mine clearance, insurance costs and shipowners' willingness to sail.

What it means

Shipping and insurance. Mines and attacks keep war-risk cover expensive whatever diplomats say; clearing them is slow. Airlines. JETS was at $29.96 at 10:08 a.m., down 0.8% from Tuesday's close, as jet fuel costs track crude. Defense stocks. No new Iran-specific catalyst today. US consumers. Our diesel piece shows how fuel feeds into small-business costs. Crude is still far below its spring peak, but a question like where the stockpile goes is exactly what could stall a deal, and the market has priced a good deal of optimism. Watch the full Rezaei interview, any US response, and the next tanker incident. See the crude oil chart and War Room.

Sources: RFE/RL, Reuters via RTE, Yahoo Finance market data. Some data may be delayed. This is market information, not investment advice.