Iran’s security chief, UK counterpart discuss nuclear talks, snapback
Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani
Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani and British national security adviser Jonathan Powell discussed nuclear talks and handling the snapback sanctions process in a phone call, domestic media reported on Wednesday, adding that both sides agreed to keep negotiations going.
Both sides agreed to pursue discussions aimed at addressing nuclear disputes, including the snapback mechanism, according to domestic outlets.
At the same time, Iranian newspapers highlighted that Tehran insists on security assurances before entering a new round of negotiations.
Deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told a Turkish outlet: “Before starting new talks with the United States, we must be sure we will not face similar attacks again.”
Referring to recent Israeli and American strikes, he said such actions were “a betrayal of diplomacy.”
“We do not want to see the same play staged again. The United States must convince us this time that it will not act in this way.”
Disputes over enrichment and sanctions
Takht-Ravanchi described a recent meeting with the European troika, saying the talks were held at deputy-minister level and focused on nuclear technical issues and sanctions relief.
“Enrichment is an inseparable part of any agreement, and zero enrichment is unacceptable to us,” he said, saying Iran’s program is peaceful and could be explained to the international community.
He also said that recent attacks had caused serious damage to nuclear facilities, though assessment was the Atomic Energy Organization’s responsibility.
First, Iran sharply increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, holding 440.9 kilograms before Israel’s June 13 attack, well above the 42 kilograms the agency says could, if further enriched, provide material for a bomb.
The report also noted Iran’s overall enriched uranium stockpile reached nearly 10,000 kilograms, an increase of more than 600 kilograms since May.
Second, the agency said inspectors have not been able to verify Iran’s near bomb-grade material for over two months, which it described as “a matter of serious concern.” Since July, when President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a law suspending all cooperation, the only inspected site has been the Bushehr power plant.
Third, the report said Iran has offered a “new arrangement” that would limit inspections to case-by-case approvals and delay access to bombed sites. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned Tehran that any such arrangement must conform with its safeguards obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
European contacts falter
In parallel, a call by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi with the three European countries ended without progress.
Iranian media reported that negotiations with the European trio will continue, though the timing and venue are undecided. Takht-Ravanchi called Turkey a preferred location, thanking Ankara for hosting previous sessions.
The IAEA report circulated just as France, Germany and the United Kingdom began the snapback process on August 28, which could reimpose UN sanctions within a month.
European governments said they may extend the deadline if Iran resumes direct talks with Washington, allows inspectors access, and clarifies its stockpiles. For now, those conditions remain unmet.
The US Treasury Department said on Wednesday that international freight forwarder Fracht FWO Inc. has agreed to pay $1.61 million to settle violations of US sanctions, including dealings involving Iran’s Mahan Air, a carrier long accused by Washington of supporting terrorism.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the Houston-based company contracted in May 2022 with Venezuela’s state-run airline EMTRASUR, a subsidiary of CONVIASA, to transport car parts from Mexico to Argentina.
The flight used an aircraft that had previously been blocked for being operated by Mahan Air and was crewed by Iranian nationals.
OFAC said the transactions amounted to apparent breaches of US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, weapons proliferation and terrorism.
“Fracht conferred a direct financial benefit of approximately $935,000 to the blocked entity EMTRASUR, providing substantial revenue to the Maduro regime and specifically relating to use of an aircraft blocked for terrorism and proliferation,” the Treasury statement said.
Washington blacklisted Mahan Air in 2011, accusing it of supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Although the aircraft later changed registration to a Venezuelan tail number, OFAC said it remained blocked property because of its origin and continuing links to the Iranian airline.
The Treasury added that Fracht executives disregarded internal compliance procedures and red flags, such as the aircraft’s Venezuelan registration and EMTRASUR’s ownership, when approving the charter. The case was deemed “egregious” and not voluntarily disclosed.
Still, the penalty was reduced from a potential $2.1 million after Fracht cooperated with investigators and undertook extensive compliance reforms, including firing the employee who arranged the deal and hiring nine sanctions specialists.
The United States has repeatedly accused Mahan Air of using commercial cover to move military equipment and personnel to support Tehran’s allies in the Middle East.
US Senator Tom Cotton on Wednesday called on the FBI and Defense Department to investigate what he called an Iranian campaign to influence US policy, branding it a serious national security concern.
The Arkansas Republican cited a joint investigation by Semafor and Iran International into the Iran Expert Initiative (IEI), an effort by Tehran's foreign ministry to cultivate ties with academics and think tank analysts to advance the Islamic Republic’s interests.
Cotton's letter focused on Ariane Tabatabai, a former aide to former US Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley. Her next post was as Pentagon Chief of Staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict.
Cotton said in his letter that Tabatabai “is still working with the US intelligence community.”
"Tabatabai and other IEI affiliates should not have been in a position to influence US policy decisions and access our nation's most sensitive intelligence," Cotton wrote.
"While the Biden administration ignored repeated calls from Republicans to remove officials affiliated with IEI and the Iranian government, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Defense (DoD) should now correct this mistake."
It was not clear what spurred the senator, an outspoken Iran hawk, to issue the call.
"I urge the FBI and DoD to review this matter thoroughly for counterintelligence concerns and potential criminality, given that national security information may have been provided to a foreign government," Cotton continued.
He also called on the FBI and Pentagon to “investigate all current and former government officials affiliated with IEl and take appropriate actions to ensure such officials are no longer able to assist Tehran in damaging US national security.”
Last October, The Free Press reported that Tabatabai had taken on a new role in the defense department which gave her reduced access to intelligence, according to a former Pentagon official.
The Iranian-American academic in her new role oversaw force education and training within the defense secretary's office.
It is not clear if Tabatabai is still working in the same position under the Trump administration.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly faulted his predecessors for perceived policy failings on Iran but has not explicitly alighted on the IEI in his criticisms.
Fellow Republican lawmakers have cast Iran as an implacable enemy after a justice department indictment sealed last year accused the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of a plot to assassinate Trump - charges Tehran denies.
The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran’s inventory of highly enriched uranium is “a matter of serious concern" as it has no visibility on the country's activities since Israeli strikes in June.
In a confidential report leaked to reporters on Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran's stock of near-weapons grade uranium increased almost eight percent before Israel attacked its nuclear facilities on June 13.
The report shows Iran had 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%, marking a 7.9% increase since the UN nuclear watchdog’s previous report in May.
"During this reporting period, the Agency lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the current inventories of nuclear material in Iran ...which urgently needs to be addressed," the report said.
It also confirmed for the first time that two of its inspectors took documents from the Fordow site back to Vienna, calling it an "error" that led to Iran withdrawing their designation.
"The incident did not involve any breach of confidentiality," IAEA asserted, lamenting Tehran's decision to bar the inspectors involved from returning to the country.
"While these pages contained some description of the interior of the facility, they did not include content that compromised the security of the facility," the report added.
'Can't wait for months'
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters on Wednesday that another round of talks with Iran is due in Vienna this week and emphasized the need to investigate and verify Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile.
"It’s not something that can drag on for months,” Grossi told Reuters. “It would be ideal to reach an agreement before next week."
Since US military strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites on June 22, IAEA inspectors have only accessed another site that was left unscathed - the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Following Israeli and other military strikes on Iran, the Iranian parliament passed a bill imposing restrictions on inspection and access cooperation with the IAEA.
Any new cooperation mechanism must now be approved by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and no agreement for inspections or resumption of IAEA work has been reached.
"We have reminded our Iranian counterparts that domestic laws create obligations for Iran, not the IAEA," Grossi said.
Grossi stressed the need to investigate Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile, saying no evidence suggests significant movement of the material.
“I believe there is a general understanding that the material is likely still there, but it must be verified. Some could have been lost,” he said. “We have no indications of major material movement.”
Following the activation of the UN sanctions snapback mechanism by France, Germany and the United Kingdom last week, Tehran warned of an unspecified response.
The leaders of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran who appeared together at a Beijing military parade formed an “autocratic alliance” challenging the rules-based order, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday.
“While Western leaders gather in diplomacy, an autocratic alliance is seeking a fast track to a new world order,” Kallas told reporters in Brussels. “Looking at President Xi standing alongside the leaders of Russia, Iran and North Korea in Beijing today, these aren’t just anti-Western optics: This is a direct challenge to the international system built on rules.”
Xi projects power in Beijing
The comments came as Chinese President Xi Jinping stood flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Tiananmen Square for a showpiece military parade. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was also present, joining more than 25 world leaders at the commemoration of Japan’s surrender in World War II.
Xi warned that humanity faced a choice between “peace or war, dialogue or confrontation” as he oversaw displays of hypersonic missiles, underwater drones and fighter jets. The parade featured tens of thousands of troops in a spectacle that China framed as a symbol of global solidarity with the developing world.
Iran joins sanctioned leaders on stage
For Iran, Pezeshkian’s attendance highlighted its growing alignment with Beijing and Moscow. His presence followed months of speculation after he did not appear at Russia’s Victory Day parade in May, despite Tehran’s deepening security and energy ties with Moscow. The absence then sparked domestic debate in Iran over how its relationship with Russia was being perceived.
Iranian officials have stressed they are seeking to use “every diplomatic capacity” in the East to ease pressure from sanctions and revive leverage in nuclear talks. Standing alongside Xi, Putin and Kim placed Pezeshkian visibly within a bloc of leaders under Western sanctions.
Trump reacts as Kremlin plays down
US President Donald Trump, who was not at the parade, wrote on social media: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America.” The Kremlin rejected the idea, saying Putin was not conspiring against Washington.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Iranian authorities of unleashing mass arrests, executions and repression of minorities under the guise of national security following June’s war with Israel.
On Wednesday, the rights groups said more than 20,000 people have been arrested since June 13, when Israeli forces struck Iranian military and nuclear sites in a series of surprise attacks. Many detainees face charges carrying the death penalty.
“The authorities’ domestic machinery of repression remains unrelenting as they ratchet up already oppressive widespread surveillance, mass arrests and incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence against minorities,” Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International said.
Those detained include political dissidents, journalists, social media users, families of victims of earlier protests, Afghans, and members of Iran’s Kurdish, Baluch, Baha’i, Christian and Jewish minorities, according to Amnesty and HRW.
Security forces have been accused of killing civilians at checkpoints, including a three-year-old girl.
Those cooperating with Israel faced “serious punishment, including the death penalty,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i, Iran’s judiciary chief, warned in July.
Approximately 21,000 people had been arrested, police spokesperson Saeed Montazer Al-Mahdi announced in a statement on August 12.
State media have echoed calls for expedited trials, with some outlets openly invoking the 1988 prison massacres when thousands of political prisoners were summarily executed.
In the first half of 2025, Iran carried out 612 executions—double the number in previous years—prompting alarm from UN human rights bodies.
Parliament has also advanced legislation expanding the use of capital punishment by defining espionage for “hostile governments” as “corruption on earth,” a charge that carries the death penalty. The bill awaits approval by the Guardian Council.
Targeting minorities
“Since June, the human rights situation in Iran has spiraled deeper into crisis with Iranian authorities scapegoating and targeting dissidents and minorities for a conflict they had nothing to do with,” said Michael Page, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at HRW.
At least 330 of the country's long-targeted Kurds have been detained since the war began, while Baluch women were among those killed during raids in the volatile Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Baha’i homes and businesses have been searched, and dozens of community members have been jailed on accusations of spying for Israel. Christians and Jews have also faced arrests and interrogations, with reports of coerced televised confessions, added Amnesty.
Calls for accountability
Amnesty and HRW urged the immediate release of those arbitrarily detained, a halt to executions, and international investigations under universal jurisdiction. The crackdown signals “a looming human rights catastrophe” for Iran’s most vulnerable groups, they said.
Without outside pressure, the combination of mass arrests, rushed trials, and discriminatory targeting could entrench a cycle of repression that deepens the humanitarian fallout of the June conflict, the organizations warned.