Iran Says Weekend Talks With Qatari Mediators Produced No Breakthrough and Insists Nothing Moves Until the U.S. Ends Its Blockade
Foreign Minister Araghchi calls the talks 'very intensive.' Security chief Rezaei says he has not answered Vance's letter, rules out opening the Strait first, and hints enrichment policy could change if war resumes.
Iran's foreign minister said Monday that weekend talks through Qatari mediators produced no major breakthrough, though the process continues, Breitbart reports.
What Iran said. Abbas Araghchi said: "Consultations through mediators are very intensive. We have presented our conditions and proposals and everything depends on the political rationality of Washington." He said the talks rested on Iran's seven-step proposal from September, now condensed so it could be carried out "within two days." He added that if the U.S. chooses "honest diplomacy, we are ready to engage," and that if it launches military operations, Iran will respond "more bitter and forceful than before." Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran's negotiators have left Doha because their work is done, that no deal can start or the Strait of Hormuz be reopened unless the U.S. naval blockade ends, and that Iran will not hand its highly enriched uranium to a third country.
The background. Breitbart reports Qatari mediators gave Iran a proposal last week that Tehran reportedly rejected as "unacceptable," apparently because it required up-front concessions on uranium enrichment. Trump rejected Iran's September plan, saying Iran was "losing so badly" and that reopening the Strait was meaningless because the U.S. has "total control" of it. Breitbart adds that Iran made and broke the same Strait promise in June.
The letter. Vice President JD Vance reportedly sent a letter last week to Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's national security council, offering to restart direct talks on terms that include the enrichment concessions. Rezaei told Iranian state media he has not replied, called the tone "softer," and said: "Until our conditions are implemented, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened, and we will not enter negotiations." He also said no official change to nuclear doctrine has been made, but that the question is being raised: "if war starts again, do we want to continue the previous doctrine or not?"
What we could not check. Every position here is as stated by Iranian officials and relayed by Breitbart, and the Qatari proposal's contents come from unnamed reporting. Breitbart's account of the June episode and the Vance letter links to other outlets, which we have not reviewed. No U.S. response to Monday's statements is in the report.