Iran Rejects Uranium Transfers and Sets Terms for U.S. Talks

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said Tehran would not allow enriched uranium to leave the country and would not resume negotiations with the United States until Washington met Iran’s conditions, setting out the position during Pakistan’s latest effort to mediate between the two countries. Rezaei made the remarks in Tehran on October 20 during meetings with Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, according to Iranian state media. He described the uranium as a national asset intended for domestic use. In a post on X, Rezaei said negotiations would not resume until the United States took steps to rebuild trust and fulfilled Iran’s conditions. Iranian officials have linked those conditions to ending the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, lifting sanctions, including those on oil exports, and stopping hostilities across the region. Tehran has also tied progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz to its demands. The precise terms described by officials have varied, and no agreement on them was reported. President Masoud Pezeshkian separately told Munir that Iran was willing to negotiate if Washington first lifted sanctions and ended its threats, according to an...