Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed until the United States meets a set of conditions Tehran has passed along through mediators.
Getting into it: Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has led Tehran’s side in negotiations over the war, told lawmakers that Iran’s demands had been clearly delivered to Washington through intermediaries. A day earlier, Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Al Jazeera that the conditions were sent through Qatar and boil down to three things: an end to the war on every front, the release of Iran’s frozen funds, and an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
“As long as the conditions are not met… and the US commitments are not honored, it will be impossible to return to the situation from before the negotiations and to an open strait,” Ghalibaf said, according to Iranian state television.
The threats came alongside the demands. Rezaei said Iran is better prepared than when the war started, claiming it has pushed its hypersonic missiles from Mach 6 to Mach 10, upgraded its air defenses, and built new electronic warfare systems. He also warned that US ships would come under attack if fighting resumes unless they pull out of the Indian Ocean. On Sunday, Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military command said it had information that the US, supported by some regional governments, was preparing to restart attacks, and warned that any government supporting such attacks would be treated as a party to the conflict.
“We warn that if the US makes a mistake in dealing with Islamic Iran, all of that country’s bases and interests in the region will become the target of continuous, effective and painful attacks, without any limit or restraint,” the military command said in a statement.
The two sides have not held direct talks since June, when an agreement halted the fighting and laid out a plan to reopen the strait before falling apart over disagreements on shipping and security arrangements, and the 60-day memorandum tied to it expired last month.
