Iran tells Pakistan’s army chief there will be no talks with Washington until its demands are met

Iran has told Pakistan’s army chief that there will be no talks with Washington until its demands are met, according to Iranian media^1,2. Iranian official Rezaei also said all enriched nuclear materials would remain in Iran, reiterating the position of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei¹.

Separately, Iranian officials said Tehran is prolonging talks in a stalemate to influence the US midterm elections^4,5,6. Iranian officials said Iran is stalling on a deal with the United States to hurt President Donald Trump politically ahead of the vote³. Iran can exploit Trump’s political problems, the officials argued⁵.

Why it matters to investors

The two statements together describe a deliberate wait. Tehran is setting conditions for any negotiation and, by its own officials’ account, is in no hurry to meet Washington before the midterms^1,3. These are claims by Iranian officials about their own government’s strategy, and they reached the public through Iranian media rather than through any statement from Washington^1,3,4.

The position on enriched material matters because it is a core issue in any settlement. By saying all of it would remain in Iran, Rezaei tied that stance to the supreme leader’s own line, which leaves little room for officials to trade it away in talks^1,2.

The use of Pakistan’s army chief as a channel shows that Islamabad is carrying messages between Tehran and Washington¹. The message delivered through that channel was a refusal rather than an opening^1,2. It also shows that a channel for talks exists, even while Tehran says it will not use it on Washington’s terms^1,2.

For oil markets, a stalemate that Iranian officials say they intend to prolong keeps the conflict unresolved through the US election period^5,6. The leadership change in Tehran, where Mojtaba Khamenei has succeeded the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not softened the stance on nuclear material^1,5.

What to watch

The first signal is whether Tehran spells out the demands it says must be met before talks, and whether Pakistan continues to carry messages between the two sides^1,2.

The second is the US midterm calendar itself. Iranian officials have said Tehran is timing its diplomacy to the vote^3,4,6. Any offer of talks before the elections would contradict that account; silence until then would confirm it^3,5. The Pakistani channel will show whether Tehran’s position softens or hardens as the vote approaches¹.