Tehran has set out the terms under which it would return to negotiations with Washington to end their war, a senior Iranian security official said on Saturday, adding that the Islamic Republic was ready for a drawn-out fight should talks fail, reports TRT World.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Al Jazeera that the conditions—relayed to US President Donald Trump through mediators in Qatar and Pakistan—include a full halt to fighting on every front, the release of frozen Iranian assets, and an end to a naval blockade. Tehran, he said, was now waiting to hear back from Washington.
Rezaei insisted that accepting Iran’s terms would also be in America’s interest, dismissing Trump’s threats as unlikely to change Tehran’s position. Iran, he added, was ready for a long and decisive confrontation if one proved necessary.
The official also raised the war in Yemen, where fighting between government forces and Houthi rebels has spread into Saudi territory, saying Iran wanted to see that conflict brought to a close as well.
On the military front, Rezaei claimed Tehran had identified weaknesses in US forces and was more capable than ever of countering American air power. He pointed to a recent Iranian test of an anti-ship missile near a US aircraft carrier as evidence of the country’s defensive readiness, warning that any attack on Iran would be met with strikes on US bases and American interests throughout the region.
The comments come against a backdrop of rising tension since February, when the United States and Israel launched sweeping strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with missile and drone attacks on American bases in the region. Pakistan subsequently brokered a truce in June, but the agreement broke down over disputes concerning the Strait of Hormuz.
The Yemen conflict Rezaei referred to dates back to 2014, when Houthi forces took control of the capital, Sanaa, and other provinces, drawing in a Saudi-led coalition the following year in support of the internationally recognised government. A four-year truce there collapsed in July, only months after the US-Iran war erupted, reigniting hostilities between the Houthis and government forces.
Recent fighting around the Bab al-Mandab strait, a critical Red Sea chokepoint, has reportedly left hundreds dead. The Houthis imposed a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia the same month, framing it as retaliation for what they call a Saudi siege of Yemen—an accusation Riyadh rejects.
