Iran hardens negotiating stance, seeks major concessions before reopening Strait of Hormuz: sources

Iran has adopted a more aggressive diplomatic posture in negotiations with the United States and is demanding major economic concessions before agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, diplomatic sources said.

The sources said Tehran’s negotiating position had strengthened following what they described as successful Iranian strikes on US bases in the Middle East, while Washington had failed to achieve its key objectives in the conflict.

According to the sources, Iranian officials believe the United States now has fewer effective options to pressure Tehran and that stocks of US air defence systems, including THAAD and Patriot equipment, have been significantly depleted during the conflict.

They said Iran consequently viewed itself as being in a stronger position and had presented six demands as conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The sources said Iran’s current demands were considerably broader than those contained in a June 17 memorandum of understanding between the two sides.

Under the June 17 understanding, the primary objective was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States had agreed to lift oil-related sanctions to allow Iran to sell crude on international markets, the sources said.

The memorandum also envisaged a ceasefire that included Lebanon, while other contentious issues were to be addressed at a later stage.

According to the sources, Iran had not at that stage insisted on the immediate lifting of broader economic sanctions, compensation for damages or the release of frozen assets.

Those issues were instead to be negotiated during a 60-day period, while discussions over Iran’s nuclear programme were also deferred, the sources said.

They claimed US President Donald Trump’s failure to conclude an agreement on the basis of the June 17 memorandum proved to be a major political miscalculation as Tehran subsequently hardened its position.

Iran is now demanding that three major economic issues — compensation or restitution, comprehensive sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian assets — be settled on its terms before the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, according to the sources.

They said Iran’s nuclear programme and its stockpile of enriched uranium were largely absent from the current set of demands, marking a significant change from earlier negotiations in which Washington had focused heavily on Tehran’s nuclear activities.

The sources said that before and around Feb 28, negotiations had primarily centred on Iran’s nuclear programme, while economic issues favourable to Tehran had largely remained outside the negotiating framework.

Under the current circumstances, however, Washington may have to offer concessions on key Iranian economic demands to secure the reopening of the Strait, while resolution of the nuclear issue may no longer be an immediate precondition, they said.

The sources also described the change in leadership of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council as significant, saying the appointment of Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei in place of Baqir Zolqader signalled a tougher Iranian diplomatic and security approach.

They said Rezaei was expected to seek to maintain military pressure on the United States while negotiations continued.

Reporter: Anwer Abbas