Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran is not holding direct negotiations with the United States and is communicating with Washington only through intermediaries.
Araghchi said Iran would not enter talks while it considers the United States to be violating an interim agreement reached in June. Mediators are continuing to exchange messages between the two sides, he added.
At the same time, Iran and Oman are reportedly close to completing an agreement defining new shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi described the negotiations as being in their “final stages,” but stressed that the agreement alone would not reopen the waterway.
According to Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Tehran is demanding that the United States:
- End further military threats against Iran;
- Halt attacks on Iran and its allies in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Yemen and Iraq;
- Remove the US naval blockade in the Gulf;
- Lift sanctions on Iran;
- Compensate Iran for damage caused by previous attacks; and
- Release frozen Iranian assets held abroad.
The Strait of Hormuz was a major route for global energy supplies before Iran blocked it following US-Israeli strikes that began in February. A US official said Washington would lift its blockade of Iranian ports once an agreement guaranteeing unobstructed commercial shipping is announced, provided Iran fulfills its commitments.
Regional tensions remain high. The United Arab Emirates accused Iran on Saturday of attacking a vessel linked to its state oil company while it was passing through the strait. Tehran did not immediately respond to the allegation.
