Iran rejects any talks with US

TEHRAN, Sept 15: Iran's security chief on Tuesday rejected any talks with the United States after President Donald Trump said he was open to resuming discussions on the Middle East war.

"Don't get distracted by the U.S. president's mixed signals -- from 'no negotiations' to 'we're ready to talk'," the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, posted on X.

"The stakes around oil and the straits have changed. Damage control won't stop what's coming. No talks until Iran's conditions are met. Period!" he added.

Trump on Monday said he was open to holding talks with Iran, after weeks of saying it was too early to make a deal to end the war.

"The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage -- The concept of which we are open to," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Iran has repeatedly listed demands including war reparations and the lifting of sanctions as preconditions for ending the war and its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States is facing a shortfall in ammunition as a result of its war against Iran, the Defense Department's inspector general confirmed Monday, contrasting with President Donald Trump's assertions of full stocks.

In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector said that between February 28 and June 30, Operation Epic Fury (OEF) had an estimated cost of $33.4 billion, including $22.3 billion spent on expended munitions.

"The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply," the report said.�"AFP