Iran’s chief negotiator, Ghalibaf, stated today that Tehran has conveyed—via intermediaries—the conditions for ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime chokepoint.
AFP reports that Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said: “Our message and the explanation of our conditions have been clearly conveyed to the other side through intermediaries.”
According to state television, he added: “As long as the conditions are not met and U.S. pledges remain unfulfilled, a return to the pre-negotiation status quo is impossible, and the strait will not be opened.”
Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, stated yesterday that the Islamic Republic had communicated its conditions to the United States through the intermediary Qatar.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, he noted: “Our conditions are an end to the war on all fronts, the unfreezing of our blocked funds, and the termination of the maritime blockade.”
Rezaei warned that the U.S. would face an Iran that is far better prepared than it was at the onset of the conflict.
“We will confront the U.S. with greater strength, delivering more frequent and more painful blows,” he said. He singled out U.S. military bases and commercial interests in the region as targets for Tehran’s military and economic retaliation in response to any U.S. strike.
“We are ready for a decisive battle,” Rezaei declared.