Iranian official tells Reuters nuclear file is off the table at regional talks

A senior Iranian official has said that Iran's nuclear programme will not be on the agenda at a round of talks now under way, according to several Israeli outlets citing an interview the official gave to the Reuters news agency. The official was not named in any of the reports.

News.co.il reported that the official told Reuters Iran would not discuss its nuclear programme for as long as Washington fails to answer Iran's demands. The foreign desk of an Israeli television news channel carried a similar account, quoting the official as saying Iran would not address the subject at all before the United States "meets its demands".

Where the talks are taking place

The reports do not agree on the venue. The Times of Israel and Ynet both described the meeting as talks in Mecca, the holy city in Saudi Arabia. The television channel's foreign desk, in its brief, placed the talks in Tehran, the Iranian capital. None of the reports explains the difference, and this article does not attempt to resolve it.

The reports reviewed here also do not list who is taking part in the talks, how long they are expected to last, or what subjects are on the agenda beyond the statement that the nuclear question is excluded.

What the official's statement links the nuclear issue to

The common thread across the reports is a condition. According to both the television channel's brief and News.co.il, the official tied any future discussion of the nuclear file to the United States first responding to Iranian demands. Neither outlet says what those demands are, and the official, as quoted, did not spell them out.

This framing places the nuclear question in the context of Iran's relationship with Washington rather than with the governments it is meeting in the current round. As presented in the reports, the official signalled that the nuclear subject is a matter Iran regards as belonging to its dealings with the United States.

How the news reached Israeli readers

All four reports appeared within a short window on the same afternoon, as brief alerts rather than full articles. Three of them were published on the Telegram messaging channels that Israeli news organisations use for breaking updates, and one was an entry on The Times of Israel's live blog. Two of the Hebrew-language outlets explicitly identify Reuters as the outlet the official spoke to. Ynet's alert pointed readers to a fuller item on its website, and The Times of Israel's entry, as provided, consists of a headline only.

Ynet is the website of the daily Yedioth Ahronoth. News.co.il is an Israeli news site. The Times of Israel is an English-language Israeli news website.

What the reports do not say

• The official's identity. No report names the official or gives a title beyond describing the person as senior.
• The location. Two outlets say Mecca and one says Tehran; the material does not settle which is correct.
• The participants and agenda. The reports do not name the delegations involved or describe what will be discussed instead of the nuclear issue.
• The demands. The official's condition refers to Iranian demands of the United States, but none of the reports describes them.
• Any response. No report carries a reaction from Washington or from any other government.