US says Iranian extradited from Panama on alleged Iran sanctions charges

A member of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee said on Monday that Iran's enriched uranium stockpile must not leave the country and that committee members firmly opposed what she called US excessive demands in negotiations.

“We firmly declared our opposition to the excessive demands of the United States in the negotiations,” Sara Fallahi said.

“Based on national interests, enriched uranium must not leave the country,” she added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday that continued US ceasefire violations and actions against Iranian vessels were undermining diplomacy, according to a readout of the call posted on Araghchi’s Telegram channel.

“The unlawful conduct of the United States and the contradictory positions of its leaders are incompatible with claims of diplomacy,” the readout quoted Araghchi as saying.

Araghchi referred to “illegal and provocative US actions against Iranian ports and vessels,” including “the assault on the container ship Touska and the hostage-taking of its crew,” the readout said.

A US official said Washington is uncertain who is in charge in Iran as efforts continue to secure a deal and extend the ceasefire, Axios reported on Monday.

“We aren't sure who's in charge and neither do they. That's going to have work itself out," it quoted the official as saying.

“We thought they were negotiating with the right people, they had reached the cocktail of what they had agreed to, what could be announced. But what happened is the Iranian team went back and the IRGC and those kinds of people said ‘oh, no, no. You don't speak for us,’” a second senior administration official said.

“Now they have a real divide over there between these factions and we're not sure who's going to win it. We hope the team we negotiated with will."

President Donald Trump said on Monday he was under no pressure to make a deal with Iran.

“I read the Fake News saying that I am under ‘pressure’ to make a Deal. THIS IS NOT TRUE! I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump also said he would not let the United States be rushed into making a deal “that is not as good as it could have been.”

“Time is not my adversary,” he added.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that any agreement his administration reaches with Iran would be far better than the 2015 nuclear deal, calling the accord negotiated under former President Barack Obama one of the worst deals ever made.

“The DEAL that we are making with Iran will be FAR BETTER than the JCPOA,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers, was “a guaranteed Road to a Nuclear Weapon,” and said that would not happen under the deal now being negotiated.

“If a Deal happens under ‘TRUMP,’ it will guarantee Peace, Security, and Safety,” he said.