Iran Rules Out US Talks Until Tehran’s Conditions Are Met: Rezaei
TEHRAN, IRAN — WEB DESK: Iran will not enter negotiations with the United States until Tehran’s conditions are met, senior Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei said, pushing back against President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Washington could be open to renewed talks.
Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the declaration in a post on X on Monday, accusing Trump of sending contradictory messages about negotiations.
“Don’t get distracted by the US president’s mixed signals,” Rezaei wrote, referring to Trump’s shift between rejecting negotiations and expressing willingness to talk. He concluded that there would be “no talks until Iran’s conditions are met.”
Rezaei also linked Tehran’s hardened diplomatic position to changing circumstances surrounding oil and strategic waterways, amid continued tensions over the Strait of Hormuz. He did not, in the statement, provide a detailed list of the conditions that would have to be fulfilled before negotiations could resume.
His remarks came after Trump said Iran wanted an agreement with Washington and indicated that the United States could be open to engagement. The US president has, however, taken shifting positions on negotiations during the continuing confrontation with Tehran.
The diplomatic dispute is unfolding against a deteriorating regional security backdrop.
Talks involving Iran and Gulf Arab states over the Strait of Hormuz have stalled, while renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and fighting in Yemen have added further uncertainty to regional diplomacy. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi targets had injured 13 civilians, while concerns were growing about threats to regional energy infrastructure and shipping.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the dispute because of its importance to international energy supplies. Restrictions on commercial shipping through the waterway have contributed to volatility in global oil markets and intensified pressure for a diplomatic solution.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had previously said reopening the Strait of Hormuz would depend on Washington fulfilling commitments Tehran says were contained in an earlier memorandum of understanding. The demands reported in connection with those discussions have included sanctions-related and regional-security issues.
Rezaei’s latest statement does not itself specify whether all of those earlier demands constitute the conditions for renewed direct US-Iran negotiations. That distinction remains important as diplomatic positions continue to evolve.
Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Tehran extend beyond the maritime dispute. Iran protested this week after its nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami was prevented from attending an International Atomic Energy Agency conference in Vienna following a US objection to a sanctions-related travel exemption.
Rezaei’s statement therefore signals that, despite renewed discussion about diplomacy, no immediate breakthrough in direct US-Iran negotiations has been confirmed.
With tensions affecting the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf security and international oil markets, any shift toward formal negotiations could have consequences well beyond Iran and the United States.
