Symbolic imageIran rejects uranium handover and threatens US bases in Europe
Iran's security council secretary Mohsen Rezaei says no enriched uranium will leave the country. He warns that European bases used for US attacks would be targeted.
Speaking to Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV, Rezaei said on Wednesday, 11 November, that "not a single particle" of enriched material will leave Iran and that new US strikes would be met with attacks on US bases far away. He said this would include bases in European countries if US aircraft take off from them. Rezaei said Iran needs the material for nuclear-powered ships and submarines and has told Moscow it will keep it. Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warned Europe that complicity in the US blockade would be "an act of war". Washington says nuclear issues must be part of any initial negotiations, while Rezaei says no talks are under way.
Bessent moves to military base
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent left his home for a military base after an Iranian threat to his life; the severity of the threat is unclear. A Treasury spokesperson said he will not be deterred and remains committed to the sanctions campaign and the blockade. Iran has previously denied plotting attacks on US officials.
Blockade versus direct talks
According to the Guardian, Trump has settled on economic pressure and a tighter blockade of Iranian oil exports, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this makes further attacks unnecessary. Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Iran rejected a request from Vice-President JD Vance for a direct meeting; the Wall Street Journal reports Vance is considering direct talks with an Iranian hardliner. Qatar's prime minister told G7 foreign ministers that Trump is allowing about two weeks for diplomacy, according to the Jerusalem Post, and Trump said on Wednesday he wants "total victory".