Iran ships not bound by US blockade, lawmaker says

Iran said “uranium is as sacred as our soil” and ruled out any transfer or dilution of its enriched uranium stockpiles in current or past negotiations.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran’s position is to keep its nuclear achievements inside the country.

“At no stage of the current or previous negotiations has the transfer of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles to the United States or any other country been discussed,” he said.

“As our soil is sacred and important to us, enriched uranium is also important to us,” he added.

He also rejected suggestions of diluting uranium, framing the issue in broader terms.

“Our soil is as sacred as our uranium,” Baghaei said, adding that national assets should be treated with the same importance as the lives of citizens.

He said Iran’s nuclear program reflects years of domestic scientific effort and would not be abandoned.

“Nuclear knowledge is the result of the efforts of Iranians,” he said, adding that if it were not valuable, adversaries would not have sought to restrict it through pressure and conflict.

Baghaei said Iran would continue to safeguard its nuclear capabilities.

Pakistan has deployed nearly 20,000 police, paramilitary and army personnel across Islamabad ahead of a planned new round of Iran-US talks, Reuters reported, citing officials.

Security has been tightened around the expected venue, with surrounding areas cleared and public transport suspended, the report said.

The measures come despite uncertainty over whether the talks will take place, as tensions rise following a US seizure of an Iranian ship and disagreements over extending a ceasefire.

Iran’s top joint military command said on Monday that the United States had violated the ceasefire by attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Sea of Oman.

The spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters accused US forces of firing at the ship, disabling its navigation system and putting Marines on board in what he described as “an act of maritime piracy.”

He warned that Iran’s armed forces were ready to confront the United States and would soon respond to what he called the US armed attacks.

Iran’s “defense capabilities,” including its missile program were not open to negotiation, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a senior Iranian source.

The source said differences over Tehran’s nuclear program had also remained unresolved and gaps between Iran and the United States had not narrowed.

The source also said the continuation of the US blockade on the Strait of Hormuz was undermining peace talks.

Israel’s Mossad, military and Shin Bet said on Monday they had uncovered a covert Iranian network planning attacks on Israeli officials and strategic sites worldwide.

The network was run by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards and had been disrupted through military strikes, arrests and intelligence operations, according to the statement.

They said operatives were recruited and trained to gather intelligence on Israeli and Western targets, including officials, military sites and infrastructure.

Israeli authorities said a cell in Azerbaijan had been thwarted in recent weeks, alleging it planned attacks on an oil pipeline and Jewish and Israeli-linked sites, including the Israeli embassy in Baku.

According to the statement, suspected operatives were detained by Azerbaijani authorities with explosive drones and other weapons.

Israel also named several Iranian figures it said were involved in directing the network, adding that some had been killed during recent operations.