A senior Iranian official denied that Tehran had agreed to hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, saying that the nuclear issue is not part of the preliminary understandings currently under discussion with the United States, Reuters reported on Sunday.

“The nuclear issue will be addressed in negotiations for a final agreement and is therefore not part of the current deal,” the official said. “There has been no agreement over Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile to be shipped out of the country.”

“We did not agree to hand over highly enriched uranium,” the official said. “The nuclear issue is not part of the preliminary agreement.”

The Tasnim news agency, which is closely aligned with the Iranian regime, described reports that Iran had proposed suspending uranium enrichment for 10 years as “completely false.”

According to the report, “the current messages and discussions concern only ending the war. There are no discussions regarding nuclear details.”

Tasnim also reported that Washington would commit to suspending sanctions on Iranian oil during the negotiation period, allowing Tehran to sell oil without restrictions during that time. If the preliminary understandings are approved by both sides, a memorandum of understanding would first be announced, declaring an end to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Afterward, a 30-day period would be allocated for implementing measures related to the naval blockade and the Strait of Hormuz, while a separate 60-day negotiating period would be established for talks on the nuclear issue.

The denials follow a report by the New York Times that Iran committed to relinquishing its highly enriched uranium as part of the emerging deal with the US to end the war.

Meanwhile, an Iranian military spokesman said that Tehran would continue to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz even if a deal is reached with Washington. According to Germany’s DPA news agency, the spokesman said the strategic waterway would remain “under full Iranian management and sovereignty.”

Iran’s Fars news agency reported Sunday that Tehran had agreed to increase the number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz back to pre-war levels, but stressed that this does not mean a return to the full “freedom of navigation” that existed before the conflict.

Fars added that Iran would continue managing the strait and issuing transit permits, while dismissing Trump’s public comments as “incomplete and not reflective of reality.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)