Iran says infrastructure not ready for US investment

Iran's primary demand in any negotiations with the United States is the lifting of all sanctions in a tangible and effective manner that allows Tehran to conduct normal trade and banking activities, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing, Baghaei also announced that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would travel to China on Tuesday.

He stressed the need for guarantees to ensure any agreement reached would be lasting and that all parties would adhere to their commitments, drawing on the experience of the JCPOA nuclear deal.

Baghaei declined to confirm any specific details of the negotiations reported in the media, labeling them as speculation and saying that such details were not intended for public discussion. He added that Iran was at the beginning of a long path.

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Iran's hardline Kayhan newspaper, managed by a representative of the Supreme Leader, warned that the ongoing nuclear negotiations with the United States could be a prelude to further talks on Iran's missile capabilities and regional influence.

In an analysis on Monday, Kayhan suggested that the US seeks to limit any regional power that could rival Israel. The paper argued that the US views the nuclear talks as a means to open the door for negotiations on what it called other components of Iran's power, a scenario it believes would make the country vulnerable to attack.

Kayhan rhetorically asked why an enemy would not attack an Iran that lacked nuclear, missile, and drone capabilities, and had abandoned its regional allies in negotiations.

The commentary also cautioned against being deceived by superficial progress in the nuclear talks, warning that it could be a trap to draw Iran into endless negotiations. To counter this, the paper stressed the necessity of establishing clear red lines in the current talks, securing strong guarantees, and seeing verifiable commitment from the other side.

Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Monday after the second round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran in Rome over the weekend.

Brent crude futures slipped $1.81, or 2.7 percent, to $66.15 a barrel after closing up 3.2 percent on Thursday. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $62.84 a barrel, down $1.84, or 2.8 percent, after settling up 3.54 percent in the previous session on Thursday.

A draft executive order circulating among US diplomats proposes the elimination of dozens of positions at the State Department including the office of Special Envoy for Iran and the transfer of its functions to Special Envoys to Middle East and the Iran Desk under MEC, according to the document first seen by The New York Times.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the document which was later obtained by several other mainstream media as "fake news".

However, the Trump administration has not appointed a new envoy for Iran since his inauguration, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff has been in charge of nuclear talks with Tehran.

Iran's IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri says the United States is "incapable" of challenging the Islamic Republic's maritime dominance.

“We have built a vessel that is better than similar American models; when the time comes, we might unveil it,” he added in a televised interview on Sunday,

Tangsiri also vowed “decisive retaliation” against any aggression toward Iran's oil tankers or territorial waters.