Iran’s politburo-like body known as the Supreme National Security Council on Saturday declared the Strait of Hormuz will not open until the United States “corrects its behavior,” issuing new demands that could shake up talks on a deal to manage the waterway and traffic on it. Iran’s state broadcaster published the statement by the council’s secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The United States must never threaten Iran again, the statement said, and must permanently end the war with Iran and its armed allies in the region. The US must lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw its military from the area. It also must “completely compensate” Iran for war damage, lift sanctions and “unconditionally” release frozen assets.
The new list of demands reflected the demands Iran was previously making as a condition for a permanent accord with the US. That envisaged accord was intended by the US as also resolving the threat posed by Iran’s rogue nuclear program and its stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium. Instead, the demands were being issued as conditions for an accord under which Iran would merely consent to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Barak Ravid, Washington correspondent of Israel’s Channel 12 news, told the network that “clearly the US cannot accept” those demands and that they could potentially push US President Donald Trump back toward the military option that he shelved only days ago.
There was no immediate comment from the US, which has wanted an acceptable deal first on the strait before ending the blockade. According to the interim deal signed in June, a schedule to end sanctions and plan for compensation would be part of the final deal, and negotiations would address frozen assets. The 60-day period to negotiate a final deal will end in just over a week but could be extended. Iran has said it was close to reaching a separate deal with Oman to manage the strait, which runs between the two countries. (Ed note: Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a commander in the IRGC. Now we're getting down to the power, the decision makers.) (Read More)
