Iran told Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir that it will not allow its enriched uranium to be removed from the country and that negotiations with the United States cannot resume until Washington meets Tehran’s demands, according to Hindustan Times.
Munir is visiting Tehran as part of Pakistan’s renewed efforts to mediate a peace deal between Iran and the US.
Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, told Munir that the country’s enriched uranium was a major national asset, AFP reported on Wednesday.
The nuclear material “constitutes a major asset and national wealth for the Iranian people,” Rezaei said.
On negotiations with Washington, he said, “There will be no negotiations until America takes steps to build trust — a process that must begin with the fulfilment of Iran’s conditions.”
Rezaei also underscored Tehran’s lack of confidence in Washington, saying Iran feared the US would launch another attack if negotiations resumed.
“Today, our nation does not trust America. It believes that if we enter the negotiations, they (the Americans) will attack us again,” he said.
Iran has repeatedly said it will not resume ceasefire negotiations unless the US meets its demands, which include ending the blockade of Iranian ports, lifting sanctions on its oil exports and halting hostilities on all fronts.
Munir, accompanied by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, according to Iranian state television. He also met parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, one of Tehran’s key negotiators.
The visit is Munir’s fifth to Iran since June and comes as Pakistan steps up efforts to ease tensions in West Asia.
Ghalibaf also criticised Washington’s handling of the conflict, citing what he described as US violations of the ceasefire agreement reached in June. He said Washington must meet Iran’s seven conditions and warned that threats would not alter Tehran’s strategic decisions, according to the Press Trust of India.
His remarks came days after US officials reportedly said Washington was considering deploying its largest non-nuclear bomb, known as the “mother of all bombs”, against Iran if President Donald Trump ordered renewed military operations.
The conflict between Washington and Tehran began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran about eight months ago. A ceasefire framework was agreed in June, but it unravelled within a month amid disagreements over issues including navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump cited Iran’s nuclear programme as one of the reasons for launching military operations against the country.
Washington has since demanded a complete halt to Iran’s nuclear ambitions while maintaining economic pressure through sanctions. Tehran, however, has refused to give up its enriched uranium, while denying that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.