Iran says US not serious about talks as hardliners push NPT exit
Tehran continues talks with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. A ship is ablaze off Iraq, and ultraconservatives are piling pressure on President Pezeshkian.
Archive image · Photo: khamenei.ir / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Tehran accused Washington of being "not serious" about negotiations. Meanwhile, senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, members of the newly formed Mecca Alliance, met President Masoud Pezeshkian and the country's security chief. Both sides agreed to continue talks and seek peace.
Britain's maritime security agency UKMTO reported a vessel on fire 63 nautical miles (117 km) southeast of the Iraqi town of al-Faw. Iran's inflation was nearly 90 percent year-on-year in September, according to official figures.
At home, the ultraconservative Front of Islamic Revolution Stability called on parliament and the Supreme National Security Council to begin withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The faction of Paydari-aligned lawmaker Amirhossein Sabeti has also filed a motion to impeach Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Analyst Negar Mortazavi says decisions on war and peace are made at the top, and that hardliners can complicate diplomacy but not necessarily stop it.