Iran demands Israel halt operations against Hezbollah before nuclear talks resume

Iran issues list of five preconditions it says must be met before nuclear talks can resume.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran has set five conditions for entering a new round of negotiations with the United States, saying they are the minimum guarantees needed to rebuild trust after the US-Israeli war, Iranian state-aligned media reported.

The Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s ruling establishment, said Tehran’s demands include an end to fighting on all fronts, particularly in Lebanon; the lifting of sanctions; the release of frozen Iranian assets; compensation for war damage; and recognition of Iranian sovereignty rights over the Strait of Hormuz.

The report said Iran conveyed the position after receiving a 14-point US proposal that Tehran viewed as one-sided and designed to secure at the negotiating table what Washington had failed to achieve militarily.

“The American proposals were formulated in a completely unilateral manner, and in a way that serves Washington’s interests,” an Iranian source who briefed the outlet said. “The Americans tried through the proposals to achieve negotiating objectives that they failed to achieve in the war.”

According to Fars, Tehran also told Pakistan, which has been mediating between Iran and the United States, that the continued US naval blockade in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman had deepened mistrust toward Washington.

Iran described the conditions as “minimum trust-building guarantees” for any renewed talks.

The conditions are broadly consistent with an earlier Iranian proposal reported by Reuters on Sunday.

That plan, sent to Washington through Pakistan, called for an end to the war on all fronts, a 30-day suspension of US oil sanctions through the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, an end to the naval blockade and “Iranian management of the Strait of Hormuz” if the United States made certain commitments.

Fars also cited Press TV as saying the Iranian plan required the United States to pay war compensation, guarantee Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, end sanctions and release frozen Iranian assets.

The outlet said Iranian officials have also demanded guarantees against renewed aggression and the lifting of restrictions on Iranian oil sales.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Monday that Tehran’s current focus was on “ending the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Fars reported. He also listed maritime safety and security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz among Iran’s concerns.