The story: Iran's conservative President Ebrahim Raisi says no agreement can be reached to revive the 2015 nuclear deal for as long as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continues its probe into uranium traces. Raisi has also asserted that a meeting with his US counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next month is not on his agenda. The remarks come as Iran is reviewing the Biden administration’s input on the latest draft of a possible plan to restore the nuclear deal.

The coverage: At a press conference marking his first year in office, Raisi on Aug. 29 laid out four conditions for the revival of the nuclear deal.

• The president listed the necessity for strong guarantees that the US will not abrogate the deal again—as it did in 2018. He also underscored that Iran has sought objective verification of the practical lifting of American sanctions, and the need for sanctions relief to be durable...