Iran says it conveyed conditions to US for reopening Strait of Hormuz

Iran's top negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Sunday that Tehran has conveyed to Washington, through mediators, its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has blockaded the strategic waterway throughout the Middle East war, which began with US-Israeli strikes in late February.

What conditions has Iran set for reopening the Strait of Hormuz?

Iran says it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz only if the war ends on all fronts, its frozen funds are released and the US naval blockade ends. Security council head Mohsen Rezaei listed these conditions on Saturday, saying they were conveyed to Washington through Qatar.

Rezaei, who heads Iran's supreme national security council, made the remarks in an interview with Al-Jazeera. "Our conditions are an end to the war on all fronts, the release of our frozen funds and an end to the naval blockade," he said.

Will Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz?

Ghalibaf, who has acted as chief negotiator in talks to end the war, said Iran's conditions have been clearly explained to the US. "Our messages and the explanation of our conditions have been clearly conveyed to the other party through mediators," he said.

Iran will not return to an open strait while its conditions remain unmet, he said, according to state television. "As long as the conditions are not met... and the US commitments are not honored, it will be impossible to return to the situation from before the negotiations and to an open strait," he added.

The two foes are locked in a stalemate months into the conflict. Tehran has kept a stranglehold on the strait, a vital shipping route for the world's oil and gas, while Washington pushes a campaign to choke Iran's ports and economy.

Who is mediating between Iran and the US?

Qatar has acted as a mediator, according to Rezaei. Iranian authorities have also said that Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, another mediator, will travel to Tehran on Sunday for talks.

What has Iran's military threatened?

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central military command issued a threat against the United States on Sunday, in a statement carried by state television. "We warn that if the US makes a mistake in dealing with Islamic Iran, all of that country's bases and interests in the region will become the target of continuous, effective and painful attacks, without any limit or restraint," it said.