Rare interview from senior Iranian official details how far a deal is and reports full preparation for return to war
A possible peace deal between the United States and Iran depends on the Trump administration’s agreement to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, a senior Iranian official confirmed to CNN this Friday, warning that the US would “enter a dark corridor” if fighting resumed.
“Negotiations are at an impasse and [o presidente dos EUA, Donald] Trump, he needs to break this impasse,” Mohsen Rezaei, military advisor to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN in an exclusive interview in Tehran. “The decision is in Trump’s hands.”
According to reports, Iran has demanded the release of $12 billion in frozen funds as soon as an interim agreement with the US is signed, and another $12 billion at a later stage.
U.S. officials fear that any unfreezing of funds at this time could remove an important point of pressure on the regime. Trump demanded that any agreement be much more robust than the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 and that anything that could be interpreted as the delivery of “pallets of money” be avoided, an expression he used to criticize then-president Barack Obama’s decision to grant financial compensation to Tehran.
In a rare interview with CNN, Rezaei clarified thinking within Iran’s strategic decision-making circles about the country’s postwar vision, the fate of the Strait of Hormuz and how Iran might act if attacked again. His statements carry weight because he remains closely linked to the Iranian security apparatus and is widely seen as close to the current supreme leader, who has not been seen in public since he suffered injuries in an Israeli attack that killed his father on the first day of the war.
Here is what Rezaei said:
- Release of frozen Iranian assets: presented the demand as a confidence-building measure, stating that the possible release of funds by the Trump administration would be “a new horizon for the future” of Iran and the United States: “If he [Trump] wants to reach a deal with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of trust that Iran wants to have with Trump – this is a test that the United States needs to pass and the path will be opened,” he said. “This is our money, not the money of the United States.”;
- Warning against return to war: Rezaei warned that Iran will “drag the war” beyond the Persian Gulf if the US resumes conflict, potentially expanding military operations from the Strait of Hormuz to the Indian Ocean, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. “We will give another dimension to the war by attacking these other American bases that we have attacked so far”, he said, adding that “the possibility of war is low”;
- Regarding a possible meeting between Trump and Khamenei: he did not answer a question about Khamenei’s health status and his role in the country’s decision-making, but rejected the possibility of a meeting between the two. “That’s not going to happen. Right now, we’re in the first phase of negotiations and Mr. Trump has paralyzed the negotiations. That’s not going to happen.” This week, Trump said he and Khamenei “seem to be getting along well” and that it would be an “honor” to meet him.
- Reiterates the claim of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz: Rezaei stated that Iran and Oman have sovereignty over the important waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the war and, therefore, they will manage it together. He refrained from framing the requirement for fees for passing ships through the strait as a toll, saying that Iran would charge a maintenance fee as it should not bear the cost of administering the strait.
A member of the old guard of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Rezaei fought in the Iran-Iraq war and led the force from 1981 to 1997, helping to transform it into one of the most powerful institutions in the Islamic Republic. Pragmatic and uncompromising, with strong roots in the Iranian security apparatus, he later joined the President’s Interest Discernment Council, an advisory body to the supreme leader, and served as vice president under the government of former president Ebrahim Raisi. Rezaei also ran for president four times, but was never elected.
In the interview with CNN, Rezaei clarified the Iranian leadership’s thinking on the country’s post-war vision, the fate of the Strait of Hormuz and how Iran might act if attacked again (CNN via CNN Newsource)
During the 40-day war between the US and Israel against Iran, which began in late February, the Islamic Republic retaliated by attacking 12 countries in the region, hitting military installations, energy infrastructure and civilian sites. Tehran also fired missiles at Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, about 3,200 kilometers from Iran, in an apparent demonstration of its reach.
In his interview with CNN, he expressed doubts about the durability of a nuclear deal with Trump, citing his withdrawal from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal and what he called a strategy of “ambiguity” in the negotiations.
If the negotiations fail, Rezaei stated that Iran is prepared for a possible American invasion of its territory, “so the world will understand Iran’s true capabilities, because our land power is many times greater than our missiles.”
He described the current war as Iran’s first triumph against its enemies in the 47-year history of the Islamic Republic.
“This is the first time that Iran has emerged victorious in wars, while in previous wars Iran has always been defeated,” he said.
Editor’s note: CNN operates in Iran only with government permission, but maintains full editorial control over its reporting
