Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Tuesday that the latest US response in negotiations was “not convincing” and maintained that the Strait of Hormuz will not be fully reopened until the US meets Iran’s conditions.
“The US response to Iran’s rights and demands was not convincing, and they must completely and explicitly answer and act upon Iran’s seven conditions,” Rezaei said, according to Iran’s PressTV. “Only in this case will the Strait of Hormuz be reopened.”
The statement follows Vice President JD Vance’s letter to Rezaei and several days of talks between Iranian and Qatari officials. Despite Rezaei’s statement, Qatar said that it remains “hopeful” about the prospects of a deal and that talks are ongoing.
“Both parties remain committed to the negotiation process… They are currently reviewing the ideas and proposals we have presented,” said Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari
According to Axios, Vance told Rezaei in the letter that, in order to prevent another round of US strikes against Iran, any negotiations “require discussions on the nuclear issue,” an idea Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected.
Iran is maintaining that the US must end its blockade of Iranian ports and fulfill several other conditions, including sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds, before entering talks on the nuclear issue. Tehran is essentially asking Washington to fulfill the commitments it made under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in June.
Vance said on Monday that both he and President Trump “both feel pretty good about the prospects” of a deal with Iran and that the US has “had a number of good conversations with the Iranians,” but the US bombed Iran’s Qeshm Island that same day.
