Pentagon says clearing Hormuz mines could take 6 months - Washington Post

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that eight female protesters who he said had been due to be executed in Iran would no longer be put to death.

“Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution,” he added.

More than 10 million barrels of Iranian crude left the Persian Gulf in the week after the United States imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports, AP reported citing analytics firm Vortexa.

Vortexa said it recorded 34 movements of sanctioned and Iranian-linked tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf between April 13 and Monday, including 19 outbound and 15 inbound voyages.

Six outbound movements were confirmed laden with Iranian crude, representing about 10.7 million barrels, the report said citing an email from the firm.

It was not immediately clear whether all of the barrels reached overseas markets.

Iran’s lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said a full ceasefire would only be meaningful if the naval blockade ends and what he called the “hostage-taking of the world economy” stops.

"A complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade and the hostage-taking of the world economy, and if Zionist warmongering is halted on all fronts," he posted on X.

"Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not possible amid a blatant violation of the ceasefire."

"They did not achieve their goals through military aggression, and they will not achieve them through bullying either."

Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian said on Wednesday that Iran’s enriched uranium had been dispersed to different locations the country.

“It is not clear at all that our enriched uranium is in Isfahan. The materials have been dispersed everywhere and are located in different places,” Nabavian said.

“The United States is stuck in a quagmire and is looking to manufacture achievements. They may even enter an area (in Iran), fill an empty barrel with soil, and in the name of uranium, declare victory,” he added.

US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy warned Wednesday that the damage from President Donald Trump’s Iran war “could get even worse,” saying the president is still contemplating a “cataclysmic ground invasion.”

"It's hard to believe, but the damage of Trump's Iran War could get even worse," Murphy posted on X.

"He is still contemplating a cataclysmic ground invasion, and his refusal to end the the war keeps Iran in control of the Strait and keeps energy prices disastrously high."