Iran expressed skepticism regarding the prospects for a new agreement with the United States on Tuesday. This sentiment emerged after American forces conducted air strikes on Qeshm Island, leaving the status of final negotiations between the two nations uncertain.
The military action took place late on Monday. It followed comments from US President Donald Trump, who stated he did not intend to launch attacks on Iran after the midterm elections and expressed hope for a deal. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had previously indicated that an agreement was possible and that the government had the authority to renew a truce.
Despite these earlier signals, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, rejected an offer delivered to Tehran by Qatari negotiators on Tuesday. Speaking on the social media platform X, Rezaei stated that the American response to Iran’s demands was insufficient.
Rezaei emphasized that the United States must fully and explicitly address Iran's seven conditions and take action on them. He noted that only under such circumstances would the Strait of Hormuz be reopened.
These last-minute efforts to prevent a return to full-scale war occurred against the backdrop of US strikes on Qeshm Island. The island is a strategic location that Iran has utilized to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the strikes, noting that the US kept the attacks quiet to minimize the risk of escalation. One US official described the strikes as defensive in that report.
According to the report, one incident involved Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps firing a surface-to-air missile at a US warplane, which returned fire in self-defense. Another strike happened after the US intercepted a missile launched from Qeshm toward a commercial vessel.
On Tuesday, Iran announced that it had downed a US MQ-9 Reaper drone and two Lucas drones near the Strait of Hormuz. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the ball was now in Washington's court after Tehran delivered what he described as a strong and rational response to the proposal conveyed by Qatar.
Ghalibaf asserted that the enemy seeks to force the Iranian nation into submission through threats and military action but is mistaken, adding that Iran will not submit. Earlier on Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated that Tehran has a seven-step proposal for a diplomatic solution that could be implemented within two days.
This plan would require the US to end its blockade on Iranian ports and provide a waiver on Iranian oil sales. It would also involve the cancellation of new sanctions on Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz waterway by Iran, followed by talks on the nuclear file.
The US and Iran had previously agreed to a ceasefire in the spring and signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding to advance talks, but this agreement was never implemented. The negotiations collapsed partly due to the US reluctance to agree to Iran controlling traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
