TEHRAN, Oct. 12 — Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday the country is reviewing the latest points raised by the United States in response to Iran’s positions and will convey its views to mediators as soon as the review is concluded.
At a weekly press conference in Tehran, Baghaei elaborated on the latest U.S. response relayed to Iran through mediators regarding Iran’s “seven-day plan”, adding that the plan in fact demanded the restoration of Tehran’s “legitimate” rights.
Iran conveyed its plan to the United States to cease hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Sept. 22, later known as the “seven-day plan,” through mediators on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Baghaei listed some of Iran’s conditions for reopening the strait as lifting the U.S. naval blockade, ending the war on all fronts, and releasing frozen Iranian assets, as stipulated in the peace memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Tehran and Washington in June.
Baghaei said the conditions have not changed, and Iran will not show any flexibility over its rights.
He noted that the United States had previously put forward its demands, and continued to claim that Iran’s nuclear issue remained its main concern.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said last Sunday that the United States had accepted some of his country’s seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while uncertainty remained over Tehran’s other terms.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire was achieved between the warring parties on April 8. On June 18, Iran and the United States signed the MoU on ending the war in the region on all fronts.
Under the MoU, the two countries were scheduled to hold negotiations within 60 days, ending on Aug. 17, to reach a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and the removal of sanctions. However, they failed to make sufficient progress toward a deal as tensions continued to escalate. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
