President Donald Trump, Iranian official Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr Alex Brandon/Vahid Salem/AP Photos
There won’t be a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz unless the United States “corrects its behavior,” Tehran declared in a statement Saturday while issuing half a dozen new demands — including that the U.S. must “never” threaten Iran again, according to the Times of Israel.
The bold statement from Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, came just hours after Vice President JD Vance assured Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany that talks with Iran had been moving forward.
“I do think that we’ve made some progress over the last few days,” Vance said.
IRGC Spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said earlier Saturday Iran the Strait of Hormuz would reopen “whenever the United States accepts Iran’s conditions,” Reuters reported, citing Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
But hours later, any potential deal appeared to be on the rocks.
The statement from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, issued via the state broadcaster, included a series of demands including a permanent end to the war with Iran and its proxies — including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, the Times of Israel reported.
Tehran is also demanding an end to the United States’ naval blockade of its ports and the withdrawal of the American military from the region — along with full compensation for damage from the war, which began Feb. 28 with joint airstrikes by Israel and the United States.
Iran is also demanding that all sanctions against it be lifted and want all of its frozen financial assets released.
The war appeared to be over in June when both sides reached a memorandum of understanding which would have given 60 days to reach a permanent deal.
Instead, hostilities quickly raged again and the U.S. commenced nearly two straight weeks of airstrikes on Iran that saw the deaths of several American soldiers.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted a deal was “imminent.”
The post Iran Demands U.S. ‘Correct its Behavior’ and Issues Sweeping Demands in Exchange for Opening Strait of Hormuz first appeared on Mediaite.
