Iran firm on stand amid US move

Washington says deal 'difficult' as Tehran rules out uranium transfer

Iran has insisted it will not allow enriched nuclear material to leave its territory, as the United States deploys a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East, with US President Donald Trump reportedly weighing fresh strikes against Tehran to break the deadlock.

"Not even a tiny bit of enriched nuclear material will leave Iran; such materials constitute a major asset and national wealth for the Iranian people, intended for use within the country," said Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

"There will be no negotiations until America takes steps to build trust — a process that must begin with the fulfillment of Iran's conditions," he told visiting Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, who is in Tehran to mediate a potential peace deal.

The conflict erupted in late February, when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran while Washington and Tehran were engaged in nuclear negotiations. Washington has imposed waves of sanctions on Iran, accusing it of seeking to build nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has long denied.

Iran has demanded, among other things, a ceasefire across the Middle East, the unfreezing of its overseas assets and the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at forging a permanent conflict settlement, yet the arrangement did not last long.

Talks have since hit an impasse, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday the two sides remain in indirect talks through Pakistan and Qatar, while warning that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed unless Washington accepts Tehran's conditions.

He told Al Ekhbariya TV that Iran had presented a seven-day initiative under which the strategic waterway would fully reopen on the sixth day. He said Washington had agreed to the conditions but wanted additional provisions.

"If they adhere to these conditions, they should know that the strait will be fully reopened, and after that we will hold further rounds of negotiations until a final agreement is reached," he said.

3rd aircraft carrier

On Tuesday, Fox News reported that the US was sending a third aircraft carrier and more than 10,000 military personnel to the Middle East.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit are expected to arrive by the end of November, according to two US officials. The Roosevelt will join the USS George H. W. Bush, deployed in April, and the USS George Washington, which relieved the USS Abraham Lincoln after its August arrival.

The Theodore Roosevelt carrier group carries about 6,000 sailors, while the Marine unit and amphibious group comprise roughly 4,200 personnel.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington is ready to take further military action against Iran, pointing out that "we want to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said that reaching a peace deal with Iran is extremely difficult, adding that economic pressure will continue until Tehran stops targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In response, a senior Iranian security official told Press TV on Wednesday that Tehran has prepared for an all-out, multilayered, and comprehensive war, and the armed forces are fully prepared "to smash with full force the interests and targets within reach of the aggressors and their supporters in the region".

The warning came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel was "committed" to overthrowing Iran's government after Trump endorsed him for reelection ahead of the Oct 27 parliamentary election.

China Daily