Tehran considers Washington’s demands ‘excessive’ and creates new body to monitor navigation and submarine cable traffic on the strategic route
Iran stated, this Monday (18), that it had responded to a new proposal of the United States to end the war. According to Tehran, diplomatic exchanges continue, although the Iranian state press classifies Washington’s recent demands as “excessive”.
The two countries have exchanged proposals in an attempt to end the conflict — started by the US and Israel on February 28 — but have held only one round of direct negotiations amid a fragile ceasefire.
“Our concerns have already been conveyed to the American side,” declared Esmaeil Baqaei, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a press conference. He highlighted that negotiations continue with the Pakistan mediation.
Baqaei reiterated the counterparts demanded by Iran, which include release of frozen assets abroad and the end of historic sanctions. “These points have been firmly defended by our team in all rounds,” he stated.
The spokesperson also defended the payment of war reparations by the US, classifying the conflict as “illegal and unfounded”, and warned that the country is “fully prepared for any eventuality” if military clashes are resumed.
Behind the scenes, positions remain distant. On Sunday (17), the Iranian news agency Fars revealed that Washington presented a list of five demands, including the restriction of Iran’s nuclear program to just one facility ea transfer of your uranium stock highly enriched to the USA.
In return, the Americans would have refused to release blocked Iranian funds or pay compensation, making the end of hostilities conditional on Tehran’s engagement in formal peace negotiations.
The Mehr news agency endorsed the criticism, stating that the United States seeks “to obtain concessions at the negotiating table that it was unable to achieve in the war, which will lead to a stalemate.”
Despite the harsh rhetoric, there are signs of possible relaxations. The Tasnim agency, citing sources close to the negotiators, reported this Monday that, unlike previous drafts, the new American text agrees on lift sanctions on Iranian oil during the dialogue period.
The counterproposal sent by Tehran last week called for an end to the war on all fronts — including the Israeli military campaign in Lebanon — as well as the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, in effect since April 13.
Control over the Strait of Hormuz
One of the most sensitive points in negotiations is the control of the strategic Strait of Hormuzan important transportation route global energy flow which Iran has kept practically closed since the beginning of the conflict. Tehran has made clear that it intends to continue administering the crossing.
To consolidate this dominance, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced this Monday the creation of Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA). On its social networks, the newly created body declared itself the “legal and official authority of the Islamic Republic responsible for traffic management” in the region.
The PGSA warned that navigation in the designated jurisdictional area requires “full coordination” and that any unauthorized crossing will be considered illegal. According to state broadcaster Press TV, ships passing through the strait will receive traffic instructions by email.
Threat to submarine cables
The escalation in strategic control should also affect the global telecommunications infrastructure. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has signaled that submarine fiber optic cables crossing the Strait of Hormuz could be subjected to a licensing system.
According to the ideological arm of the Armed Forces, the country exercises “absolute sovereignty over the bed and subsoil of its territorial sea”, which would justify the requirement for formal authorizations.
Parallel to the diplomatic negotiations, the military tensions remain active. The IRGC reported having attacked, also this Monday, armed groups in the Iranian city of Baneh, in the province of Kurdistan, close to the border with Iraq.
In a statement released by the ISNA agency, the Guard alleged that militants based in northern Iraq were acting “on behalf of the US and the Zionist regime [Israel]” to smuggle a large shipment of American weapons and ammunition into Iranian territory.
