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Iran Sends US War-Ending Conditions Through Qatar

3 hours ago

Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei says Tehran has passed conditions to end its war with the US through Qatari mediators and awaits a response from Trump.

Iran has handed the United States a formal list of demands to end their war, passing the terms through Qatari intermediaries, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said on Saturday. Mohsen Rezaei, who assumed the post roughly a month ago, said Tehran was now waiting to hear back from President Donald Trump.

Rezaei laid out three requirements in an interview with a Tehran-based bureau chief: a halt to fighting across every front, the return of Iran's frozen assets, and the lifting of a naval blockade. He said Qatar remained in touch with both governments and had relayed the conditions to Washington with the goal of stopping the conflict.

"It is in Washington's interest to accept these conditions," Rezaei said. He added that pressure from Trump would produce nothing and that Iran was ready for what he called a decisive war.

The fighting began in late February, when the United States and Israel struck Iran in an assault that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Two mediating governments, Qatar and Pakistan, have been trying to restart negotiations since a memorandum of understanding between the two sides lapsed last month. Other governments in the region are also pushing for a resolution.

No ceasefire yet

Asked whether the conflict was close to ending, Rezaei said that for all practical purposes it continued. He described Iran as operating under a fresh strategy aimed at closing out the war as quickly as it could, while making clear that combat had not stopped.

He did not dismiss the prospect of another American strike. Based on his country's military evaluations, he said, such an attack was a real possibility, though he maintained that Iran was prepared for it.

Rezaei said Iran's war planning had changed since two previous rounds of fighting. The country is now concentrating on American naval forces spread across the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Vessels positioned farther out, toward the Indian Ocean, sit beyond what Iranian forces can strike, he acknowledged.

A new antiship missile

Rezaei said Iran had recently carried out a test of a multi-warhead antiship missile close to an American ship or aircraft carrier. The warheads, he indicated, could see further development.

He warned that any Iranian retaliation would be forceful. It would take in American military bases across the region, as in earlier exchanges, and would also reach US business interests and companies with operations in the area.

A correspondent reporting from Tehran characterized Rezaei's comments as the kind of dual-track messaging Iran has kept up throughout the war: signaling willingness to talk while continuing to gear up for battle. On one side, he noted, sat an openness to diplomacy; on the other, talk of readiness for a decisive fight. The reporter said mediated discussions involving Qatar and Pakistan were in progress and offered a modest, if slim, reason for hope that engagement could resume.

Washington, however, may not read the demands as a genuine overture. David Des Roches, who previously ran Arabian Peninsula affairs at the Pentagon, said the United States was unlikely to treat the terms as a serious opening. "At first glance, probably not," he said.

Iran US war, Mohsen Rezaei, Qatar mediation, Iran frozen funds, naval blockade, Supreme National Security Council, Iran ceasefire conditions, Donald Trump Iran

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