Iran Will Not Reopen Strait of Hormuz Until US Meets Conditions, Mohsen Rezaei Says

TEHRAN: Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz or return to negotiations with the United States until Washington meets Tehran’s conditions, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Major General Mohsen Rezaei has said.

Rezaei said Iran would not return to the format of negotiations that existed before the war and that the United States would have to take the first step.

He said Tehran had formulated seven conditions for resolving the conflict and that the conditions had been conveyed in writing to Pakistan and Qatar.

“Until our conditions are fulfilled, the Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened and we will not negotiate,” Rezaei said, according to Iranian media.

Iran has previously said its conditions include an end to the war on all fronts, the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to the US naval blockade. Rezaei has said Qatar conveyed Tehran’s terms to Washington, while Pakistan has also remained involved in diplomatic contacts.

Rezaei also warned regional countries against becoming part of what he described as a US campaign against Iran.

He said countries that prevent Iranian aircraft from using their airports could face restrictions on flights from their own airports.

The Iranian security official said Tehran expected neighbouring and regional states to avoid involvement in the confrontation.

Rezaei also criticised US President Donald Trump’s remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, describing them as an attempt by what he called an aggressor to defend its position.

He said Iran had not attacked another country since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution and maintained that Tehran’s military actions had been defensive.

Rezaei also said Iranian forces had reached a new capability involving the flight of a missile directly over the USS George Washington carrier strike group.

The statement was made amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, with Tehran continuing to focus its military planning on US naval assets in the Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a central issue in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, with Qatar, Oman and Pakistan involved in efforts to facilitate contacts between Tehran and Washington.