Iran has conveyed its conditions to the United States for ending its blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as tensions between the two countries remain high amid a prolonged conflict.
Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that Tehran had communicated its demands to Washington through mediators.
“Our messages and the explanation of our conditions have been clearly conveyed to the other party through mediators,” Ghalibaf said, according to Iranian state television.
He said Iran would not restore the strait to its pre-negotiation status until its conditions were met and US commitments honoured.
“As long as the conditions are not met… and the US commitments are not honoured, it will be impossible to return to the situation from before the negotiations and to an open strait,” he said.
The Strait of Hormuz is a major global energy shipping route, carrying significant volumes of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday that Iran had also communicated its demands to the US through Qatar.
According to Rezaei, Iran is demanding an end to the conflict on all fronts, the release of its frozen funds and an end to the naval blockade.
“Our conditions are an end to the war on all fronts, the release of our frozen funds and an end to the naval blockade,” he told Al Jazeera.
Rezaei also warned that Iran was better prepared for a potential escalation than it was at the beginning of the conflict.
“We will confront America with greater force, and with more numerous and more painful strikes,” he said, identifying US military bases and American commercial interests in the region as potential targets in the event of further US attacks.
“We are prepared for a decisive war,” he added.
The Iranian security chief further claimed that Tehran had increased the speed of its hypersonic missiles from Mach 6 to Mach 10, while also strengthening its air defence capabilities and developing electronic warfare systems.
He warned that US naval forces could come under attack if hostilities resume.
“Therefore, should war break out again, US ships, unless they withdraw from the Indian Ocean, will be subject to attack,” Rezaei said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Military Command issued a separate warning against the United States on Sunday.
The command said any US military action against Iran would result in attacks on American bases and interests across the region.
It warned that such targets would face what it described as “continuous, effective and painful attacks” without limitation or restraint.
