US must agree compensation before nuclear talks, Iran's foreign minister tells FT

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator told the newspaper that Iran needs real confidence-building measures from their side after Witkoff proposed resuming talks. The US must agree to compensate Iran for losses incurred during last month's war, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing Iran's foreign minister. "They should explain why they attacked us in the middle of ... negotiations, and they have to ensure that they are not going to repeat that (during future talks)," Abbas Araghchi told FT in an interview in Tehran. "And they have to compensate (Iran for) the damage that they have done." The report said Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff exchanged messages with each other during and since the war, with the Iranian official emphasising to his American counterpart the need for a "win-win solution" to end the long-running standoff over Iran's nuclear programme. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator said this should include financial compensation, without giving details, and assurances that Iran would not be attacked during negotiations again, according to FT. The US launched strikes last month on Iranian nuclear facilities that Washington says were part of a programme geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear programme focuses on peaceful purposes and is not developing weapons. The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.