Iran has laid out five preconditions for restarting negotiations with US authorities for ending the ongoing war, now in its 75th day, following the joint Israeli – US strikes on February 28, which eliminated much of the country’s senior leadership.
According to a report published Tuesday by Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, Tehran rejected Washington’s latest 14-point peace proposal, describing it as a “demand for surrender”, calling it an attempt to secure through diplomacy, what Washington and Jerusalem failed to secure militarily.
Citing an unnamed source, the IRGC run Fars News reported that Tehran would only return to direct negotiations with Washington if its core demands were met.
The conditions include ending Israel’s ongoing war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, lifting all sanctions from Iran, releasing the Islamic Republic’s frozen assets, paying war reparations, and the formal recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the vital Strait of Hormuz corridor.
Iranian officials have maintained that these five demands form the foundation for resuming talks.
However, President Donald Trump has publicly rejected most of the core demands, particularly the demand for war reparations, and recognition of Iranian control over Hormuz, which Washington has called “unacceptable.”
So far, the only round of direct talks between Washington and Tehran took place in Islamabad back in April 11, though the talks ended in failure as neither side reached any agreement.
Though the two sides managed to reach a ceasefire agreement, which was brokered on April 8, the accord has come under excessive strain following naval clashes in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran’s renewed attacks on the US’ allies in the Gulf, with Trump himself stating earlier this week that the fragile truce was “on life support”, and confirmed he was considering the possibility of restarting the US bombing campaign against Iran.
At the same time, Tehran has signalled that its armed forces remain on high alert.
Iranian military units have been conducting large-scale drills around Tehran, with officials saying that the exercises demonstrated the country’s readiness to confront any new attack by the US or Israel.
Hassan Hassanzadeh, a brigadier general in the IRGC, said the five-day exercises, named “Martyr Commander,” showed that Iranian forces could respond rapidly “at any place and at any time.”
The drills involved special forces and IRGC commandos carrying out exercises focused on countering what officials described as enemy special operations and hostile movements across different types of terrain.
Iranian authorities said the exercises reflected a “high level of comprehensive readiness” as the country’s relations with both Washington and Jerusalem remain under considerable strain, despite the ceasefire technically remaining in place.
