US-Iran Talks in Deadlock Over Frozen Assets, Military Adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Says

The talks between the U.S. and Iran are in a deadlock. Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mohtaba Khamenei, told CNN in an interview published on Friday. The two sides may enter into wider war, he warned. Are the negotiations right now blocked, or do you think that a memorandum of understanding can be reached quickly? In my opinion, the negotiations are at a deadlock, and Trump must break this deadlock. They are waiting for an answer from Iran. Iran has openly stated that our assets have been frozen, and you must release them. The Americans are not telling the truth in this regard. So the frozen assets are the big problem right now? This is a sign of trust building. If Trump takes the negotiations seriously, $24 billion is not much to America. If he wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of trust that Iran wants to have with Trump. This is a test that America must pass, and the path will be opened. This is our own money, not America's money. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. will consider releasing the frozen assets only after Iran handles over the nuclear dust, which is another core area halted by an even more massive gap. The Trump administration is demanding a zero-enrichment policy. Requiring Iran to completely halt its uranium enrichment, turn over past nuclear materials, and accept severe limitations on its ballistic missile program. However, Iranian officials maintain they will not accept outright bans on domestic nuclear enrichment. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had considered ordering a special operations mission to recover stocks of highly enriched uranium from Iran, but elected not to because of the risks. I didn't want to be Jimmy Carter, he said, referring to Operation Eagle Claw, a failed Carter-era rescue mission in which eight U.S. service members were killed in an accident at a mission staging site inside Iran.