‘Ball is in US court’: Iran lays out terms for talks

Tehran: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday said that the responsibility for advancing negotiations now lies entirely with Washington, emphasising that Iran’s logical demand, starting with an end to the US naval blockade, must be met before the Strait of Hormuz can be reopened or secured.

"The ball is in America's court; because our demands have been stated very clearly and transparently, and Iran's demands are reasonable and logical," Baghaei said during a press briefing. "No final agreement can be initiated and the Strait of Hormuz cannot be opened or secured unless the US naval blockade is ended, Iran's demands are met, and Iran's legitimate demands are implemented. After that, we can discuss the continuation of the process."

"It is common for different people to write letters or speak in different ways," Baghaei explained. "The style of writing letters and expressing oneself may differ from one person to another; but for us, the performance of the US government is important."

"So far, the US has shown that it not only lacks initiative in the field of diplomacy, but also destroys diplomatic initiatives," Baghaei added. "In the past two years, the US has only beaten the drum of war, and whenever a path for diplomacy has been opened, or during that process, it has disrupted the process."

"Incidentally, the senior negotiator in the Islamabad process was the same writer of the letter, and we saw that the US President recently also announced that that process was a waste of time in our opinion," he said. "That said, any diplomatic process should definitely be approached with great caution."

"The diplomatic initiative that the Islamic Republic of Iran put forward in the last case was a seven-day initiative that was discussed in detail during the Iranian delegation's visit to New York," Baghaei noted. "We received and heard the views of the other side through mediators, and various considerations were exchanged between the parties. Our proposal for this diplomatic process still exists."

"The basis for the talks and negotiations between Iran and the United States through mediators is the same seven-step plan of Iran, which has now been condensed and can be implemented within two days," Baghaei stressed. "This also indicates Iran's approach based on good faith. We have announced that if Iran's demands are met, it is possible that both security will return to the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiation process will begin within a short period of time. All of these depend on the American side on how it wants to proceed with this process."

Regarding Tehran's official reply to the Vice President's letter, Baghaei stated that "given that the recipient of the letter is the esteemed Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, he will definitely make a decision about it in a way that he sees fit."

"The Deputy Foreign Minister's trip to Doha was to facilitate interactions between Iran and the United States," Baghaei said. "The United States must make a decision. We have conveyed to the American side in a reasonable format everything that was necessary and was considered as legitimate demands of Iran."

"You cannot talk about the Strait of Hormuz and worry about insecurity... but continue to economically blockade Iran and abandon everything you have agreed to," Baghaei stated. "This will be a unilateral deal that will simply not be sustainable."

As the possibility of fresh strikes lurks in Iran, the Minister said, “We do not rule out any possibility regarding the outbreak of war, and we are prepared for all scenarios. We have upgraded our weaponry, addressed our vulnerabilities, and tested new arms; our forces are at the highest level of readiness.”