Iran has set firm conditions for any peace deal with the United States, saying it will not give up its stockpile of enriched uranium, as Pakistan's army chief visited Tehran to help mediate an end to the nearly eight-month war between Iran and the US and Israel.
"Not a single gram of enriched uranium will be removed from Iran," senior security official Mohsen Rezaei wrote on X, according to Fox News. Al Jazeera reported slightly different wording of the same message.
Pakistan and Qatar mediate
Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met Rezaei and President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on 20 October. Pakistan and Qatar are trying to turn a fragile pause into a permanent ceasefire. Qatar says talks are ongoing, but neither Washington nor Tehran has confirmed them, according to Fox News.
Rezaei said negotiations could only begin with the "full fulfillment of all Iran's conditions." Pezeshkian said Washington must first "end the pressure and threats and lift sanctions."
What each side wants
| Iran | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Uranium | Keep its enriched uranium inside Iran | Trump demands "zero uranium enrichment" |
| Sanctions and blockade | US naval blockade lifted, sanctions waived, frozen assets released | No deal that creates a "pathway" to a nuclear weapon (Marco Rubio) |
| In return | Reopen the Strait of Hormuz | Stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon for years |
Vice President JD Vance has questioned why Iran needs uranium enriched to 60%, close to weapons grade. A memorandum signed on 17 June named downblending of Iran's stockpile under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervision as a minimum step, but it expired in mid-August without a full deal, according to Al Jazeera.
Background: an eight-month war
The US-Israel war on Iran began on 28 February 2026, and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed on its first day, according to Al Jazeera. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeated his pledge to topple Iran's government. Trump said strikes are "not good enough for me" unless they stop a nuclear weapon for years, while a White House spokesperson said the US would not attack Iran before the US midterm elections. The conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed up oil prices; see our report on Brent crude near $110.
What happens next
No deadline has been set for talks. Iraq closed its Sheeb border crossing with Iran indefinitely from 21 October. With both sides publicly hardening their positions, mediators face a difficult task in finding common ground on the uranium stockpile, the central issue.
