Is Tehran shutting the door on nuclear talks or just shifting tracks?

The parliamentary declaration follows Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's skepticism on Tuesday regarding the success of ongoing indirect nuclear talks with the United States, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's announcement that Iran is assessing its participation in the next round of negotiations.

The statement, read by parliamentary presidium member Mohammad Rashidi, said that Iran’s enrichment levels would not be capped at below 20% and would instead be determined by peaceful domestic demands.

It emphasized the importance of nuclear technology for non-military uses such as medicine, agriculture, energy, and desalination.

Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching uranium to 60% purity—a level the UN nuclear watchdog says has no credible civilian use and is technically close to weapons-grade 90% fissile material.

Lawmakers said Iran’s nuclear activities were fully in line with its rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), calling any abandonment of the program “a betrayal of national interests and the country’s future.”

The statement came hours after Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had yet to decide whether it would attend the next round of indirect nuclear negotiations with the United States.

“We are still assessing whether to participate,” Araghchi told reporters on Wednesday.

Araghchi added that uranium enrichment would continue “with or without an agreement,” and called on Western powers to lift what he described as “unjust sanctions.”

“If they make further demands and try to deprive us of our rights, there will be no room for acceptance,” he added.

Khamenei, who has the final say on state matters, warned on Tuesday that the outcome of diplomatic efforts remained unclear.

In their statement, Iranian lawmakers also said the US had no standing to dictate terms to Iran.

Following the reading of the statement, lawmakers chanted slogans against the United States and Israel.

The bill passed with 191 votes in favor, 8 against, and 2 abstentions out of 201 ballots cast, according to state media.

The agreement, initially signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on January 17, was ratified by Russia’s State Duma in April.

While the pact does not include a mutual defense clause, it commits both nations to enhanced military-technical cooperation, joint military exercises, and coordination in the face of what they define as shared security threats.

“The strategic treaty is vital from economic, security, geopolitical, and diplomatic perspectives,” said Tehran lawmaker Hamid Rasai during the parliamentary debate. “Both Iran and Russia are under heavy Western sanctions. This partnership can help reduce dependence on the dollar and strengthen national and military security.”

Rasai added that Russia could potentially provide Iran with advanced weapons systems, including air defense technologies, fighter jets, and naval equipment.

Another MP, Mohammad Reza Ahmadi from Rasht, voiced support for the pact, saying, “It is in our interest to align with those who oppose America.”

The development comes against the backdrop of deepening military collaboration since the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022.

Western governments have accused Iran of supplying drones and missiles for Russia’s use on the battlefield, leading to economic sanctions, a charge Tehran has consistently denied.

Economically, the pact aims to ease bilateral trade and financial transactions, with provisions to expand interbank cooperation and promote the use of national financial instruments.

The move comes as both Tehran and Moscow remain under extensive Western sanctions.

Last week, a separate free trade agreement between Iran and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union came into effect, reducing tariffs to boost trade flows between the two economies.

In an article titled “Building a new reality for the region: Toward stability, sovereignty and solidarity in West Asia,” Araghchi painted a sobering picture of mounting challenges in the region, including protracted conflicts, environmental degradation, and humanitarian crises.

He argued that externally imposed security arrangements have repeatedly failed to deliver long-term stability.“The people of this region have paid the price for policies that were drafted without their consent or participation,” he wrote.

The top Iranian diplomat said the current geopolitical disorder is rooted in decades of unresolved conflicts, worsened by foreign interference.

He warned that issues like water scarcity, refugee displacement, and economic fragility are shared threats requiring regional cooperation rather than competitive power politics.

“Security in West Asia must no longer be treated as a zero-sum game,” Araghchi stressed. “It should be a collective endeavor based on mutual respect and inclusive dialogue.”

However, he warned that no regional security architecture would be complete without addressing the role of Israel, which he accused of persistent destabilization and operating outside international disarmament norms.

“A regime that systematically violates international law and enjoys unchecked military privilege cannot be part of any sustainable security framework,” Araghchi said, citing Israel’s nuclear ambiguity and history of regional military activity.

Araghchi called for West Asia to embrace a “homegrown paradigm of security” rooted in shared sovereignty and common prosperity, inviting global powers to support, rather than dictate, this transition.

“The future of West Asia will not be written in distant capitals,” he concluded. “It will be authored by the peoples of the region, based on frameworks reflecting their histories, cultures, and collective will.”

Araghchi’s article comes as indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States appear stalled, with both sides holding firm on uranium enrichment — a key sticking point each describes as a red line.

It also comes in the wake of a weakening of some of Iran's key military allies in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and allied groups in Syria, once a military stronghold for Tehran under the presidency of ousted President Bashar al Assad.

Citing intelligence sources, the report said that among the military preparations the US has observed are the movement of air munitions and the completion of an air exercise.

Additionally, CNN said intelligence had come from intercepted Israeli communications.

A source close to US intelligence told CNN that “the chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months and the prospect of a Trump-negotiated US-Iran deal that doesn’t remove all of Iran’s uranium makes the chance of a strike more likely.”

In a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in mid-March, Trump set a 60-day deadline for the resolution of a new nuclear deal to replace the JCPOA from which Trump left during his first presidency in 2018.

According to a source familiar with the communication, CNN reported that it has now been more than 60 days since that letter was delivered, and about 40 days since the first round of talks began.

Trump warned that there will be “bombing the likes of which they have never seen before” before the talks commenced.

However, after the fourth round of Oman-mediated negotiations, Khamenei on Tuesday said the discussions look likely to fail as the US insists that Iran stops all uranium enrichment.

"Saying things like 'we won’t allow Iran to enrich uranium' is way out of line," he said. "We do not think (the talks) would yield results now."

Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching uranium to 60% U-235, a level that causes "serious concern," according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The IAEA has consistently maintained that there is no credible civilian use for uranium enriched to this level, which is a short technical step from weapons-grade 90% fissile material. Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium had increased to 275 kg, enough to theoretically make about half a dozen weapons if Iran further enriches the uranium.

Speaking to CNN, Jonathan Panikoff, a former senior intelligence official specializing in the region said that the talks have put Israel “between a rock and a hard place” as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now waits for Trump’s next moves.

“At the end of the day, the Israeli decision-making is going to be predicated on US policy determinations and actions, and what agreements President Trump does or does not come to with Iran,” Panikoff said, stressing that even Netanyahu would not be as bold as to act without tacit US approval.

Iran's air defenses were significantly weakened after Israeli bombings in October, though the country's top military commander announced renewed air defense systems this week.

The US intelligence source told CNN: “I think it’s more likely they [Israel] strike to try and get the deal to fall apart if they think Trump is going to settle for a ‘bad deal. The Israelis have not been shy about signaling that to us … both publicly and privately.”

A previous CNN report showed that according to a US intelligence assessment from February, Israel could use either military aircraft or long-range missiles to capitalize on Iran’s degraded air defense capabilities after the October strikes.

In the same month, US intelligence agencies issued warnings that Israel will likely attempt to strike facilities key to Iran’s nuclear program this year.

It has “consistently been the Israeli position that the military option is the only option to stopping Iran’s military nuclear program,” one US official told CNN.

The SNSC directive, a copy of which was obtained by Iran International, warned that failure to comply would be considered an act of threatening national interests and security.

It instructed media outlets and editors to only rely on official statements from the Iranian Foreign Ministry—namely, the foreign minister and the ministry’s spokesperson—for any coverage related to the ongoing talks.

The directive was published hours after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that the current indirect nuclear talks with the United States are unlikely to succeed.

"Translating or republishing negotiation-related news from foreign sources including foreign state or non-state media, social networks, online activists, or any other sources is strictly prohibited and considered contrary to national interests and security," the notice said.

The council also warned against publishing any analysis, interpretation or speculation—whether supportive or critical—about the content or outcome of the negotiations.

"Media outlets are also expected, in order to maintain national unity, preserve public psychological calm, support the negotiating team, and convey a unified message to both domestic and international audiences," it continued.

Outlets must "refrain entirely from publishing any analysis, prediction, interpretation, or independent commentary regarding the details of the negotiations, the positions of the opposing parties, or conclusions based on unofficial reports," it added.

The directive emphasized that the restrictions are aimed at preventing the spread of misinformation and ensuring consistency in the country’s foreign policy messaging.

The 2024 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index ranked Iran 176th out of 180 countries assessed, citing state control of the media landscape and the arbitrary arrest and prosecution of journalists before revolutionary courts.