Iran will not discuss its nuclear programme at talks on Monday with members of the Mecca Pact, a senior Iranian official told Reuters. The official said the United States must first meet Tehran's conditions for ending its war against Iran permanently, setting a clear limit on what the meeting can achieve.

The talks bring Iranian leaders together with officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. They are the first high-level contact of this kind since Saudi Arabia became a central pressure point in the wider Iran conflict, and they follow a weekend visit to Tehran by Qatari mediators.

What Tehran wants first

Iran's proposal, conveyed to Washington through mediators in mid-September, includes lifting a US blockade of Iranian ports, easing sanctions on Iranian oil exports and ending hostilities on all regional fronts. Tehran's position is therefore that those steps must come before any broader negotiation, rather than as a reward for one.

That stance was echoed on Monday by Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, who said the American side was not serious about negotiations and had repeatedly made false claims. He also said Iran had never possessed nuclear weapons or sought to acquire them, and accused Washington of using nuclear allegations to justify military action.

Indirect communication has not stopped entirely: Iranian officials confirmed on 25 October that messages were still passing through intermediaries, according to the Associated Press. But with formal negotiations stalled, Monday's meeting looks more like a test of whether the parties can agree on first steps than a route to a settlement.