Iran will not abandon uranium enrichment or hand over its uranium

Iran will not abandon uranium enrichment or hand over its uranium, state media reported on Thursday, citing the head of the country's Atomic Energy

Organization Mohammad Eslami, after the US said Iran must make "meaningful" reductions in its enrichment capacity.



Dismissing renewed US threats against Iran's nuclear facilities as "nothing new", Eslami said enrichment was "an inseparable part" of the nuclear process.



Eslami's comments come as Iran and the United States exchanged proposals in recent weeks aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route.



Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday that Iran could reply within days to a US response to Iran's proposal under which the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened within seven days if necessary conditions were met.