Politics

Iran's Rezaei rules out moving enriched nuclear material abroad

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran will not allow any enriched nuclear material to leave the country. He made the remarks during a meeting with Pakistani army chief Asim Munir. Rezaei also tied any negotiations with the United States to Washington taking confidence-building steps and meeting Iran's conditions, according to media reports.

سكاي نيوز عربيةTuesday, October 20, 2026, 20:05Covered by 2 sources

Illustrative photo: Nuclear power plant cooling towers under a cloudy sky beside a farm field. Photo by Lukáš Lehotský on Unsplash

Why it matters

The stance shows Tehran holding firm on one of the core disputes in its nuclear file with Washington, which could complicate any negotiating track. It matters for the region because progress or deadlock on this issue affects regional stability and Gulf security.

Background

The fate of Iran's enriched nuclear material is one of the main sticking points in any talk of negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Pakistan is a neighbor of Iran, and its military is a regular presence in senior regional contacts.

Key points

According to RT Arabic, Rezaei stressed that the enriched material will not be moved out of Iran "under any circumstances," and the outlet referred to him as Major General.

How outlets covered it

Sky News Arabia and RT Arabic agree on the core facts: Rezaei met Pakistan's army chief, and Iran rejects moving any enriched nuclear material out of the country. Sky News Arabia also highlighted the condition for entering negotiations with Washington, namely confidence-building steps and the meeting of Iranian conditions, and it named Asim Munir. RT Arabic's text focused on the categorical wording of the refusal, "under any circumstances," and did not mention the negotiation condition or name the Pakistani army chief.