Iran Sets Seven Conditions for Talks With Washington, Saying the United States Is "Not Serious"

Ali Bagheri Kani, of the secretariat of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said the United States must meet seven conditions before Tehran will consider talks with Washington, and stated that the US is "not serious" about negotiating. He also warned that Washington might seek a short-term deal before the 3 November midterm elections and then resume military action or pressure.

Earlier, on 4 October, Iran's top negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Strait of Hormuz would stay closed until the United States accepts Tehran's seven-day plan to reopen it. He said the era of wasting time and dictating unilateral demands was over, and that Iran would both fight and negotiate.

The two sides want different things first. According to Al Jazeera, reopening the strait has been Iran's main goal, while the United States has focused on nuclear talks. President Donald Trump ruled out an Iranian roadmap to reopen the strait hours after it was presented in late September, and he told a rally in Mississippi that the April ceasefire was a waste of time.

On the military side, Iran's armed forces chief has declared the strait closed to vessels operating outside Iranian rules, while a Saudi-led coalition continues to intercept missiles and drones launched by Yemen's Houthi movement.