Trump nixes return to Iran framework as talks halt

“Our conditions must be accepted by the United States,” IRGC spokesman Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi told Iranian state television.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

US efforts to negotiate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have reached another deadlock, with the Trump administration rejecting a return to its June memorandum of understanding with Iran and Tehran insisting that Washington revive the agreement before the waterway can reopen, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The administration has informed mediators that President Donald Trump is no longer interested in the MOU, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the Journal. Trump has instead adopted a maximum economic pressure policy toward Iran.

The June framework linked reopening the strait and negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program to sanctions relief and access to Iranian assets that had been frozen.

The arrangement unraveled within weeks after Iran began attacking ships as it sought to assert control over the waterway. It also faced strong domestic criticism for being too lenient toward Tehran.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps presented its own conditions Wednesday.

“Our conditions must be accepted by the United States,” IRGC spokesman Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi told Iranian state television.

“If the United States stops obstructing and returns to the memorandum of understanding, we can open the Strait of Hormuz within the framework of the agreement reached,” he said.

Iranian conservatives maintain that Paragraph 5 of the MOU recognizes Tehran’s authority to determine conditions for passage through the strait. Washington has not publicly addressed that interpretation.

Several countries attempted to revive diplomacy this week without producing a breakthrough.

Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir visited Tehran but made little headway, the Journal reported.

Oman’s foreign minister also sought an agreement establishing a transit lane as a preliminary step toward wider negotiations, but discussions stalled as Iran sought greater authority over traffic.

Iran said the Oman talks produced an agreement on transit routes, although Muscat has not confirmed one and Iranian officials have given conflicting descriptions of the outcome.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani also held talks with Iran’s foreign minister in Tehran. Their joint statement referred to efforts to prevent escalation and prepare for negotiations but reported no agreement.