"Ball is in America's court": Iran demands end to US naval blockade before any agreement on Strait of Hormuz

"The ball is in America's court; because our demands have been stated very clearly and transparently, and Iran's demands are reasonable and logical," Baghaei said during a press briefing. "No final agreement can be initiated and the Strait of Hormuz cannot be opened or secured unless the US naval blockade is ended, Iran's demands are met, and Iran's legitimate demands are implemented. After that, we can discuss the continuation of the process."

Addressing questions regarding a recent diplomatic letter sent by the US Vice President JD Vance to the Secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Razaei, Baghaei noted that Tehran evaluates the US based on concrete performance rather than tone or rhetorical style.

"It is common for different people to write letters or speak in different ways," Baghaei explained. "The style of writing letters and expressing oneself may differ from one person to another; but for us, the performance of the US government is important."

He warned that Washington has a track record of undermining diplomatic efforts rather than initiating them.

"So far, the US has shown that it not only lacks initiative in the field of diplomacy, but also destroys diplomatic initiatives," Baghaei added. "In the past two years, the US has only beaten the drum of war, and whenever a path for diplomacy has been opened, or during that process, it has disrupted the process."

Baghaei referenced previous diplomatic attempts, pointing out that even after agreements were reachedsuch as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understandingthey were unravelled shortly after.

"Incidentally, the senior negotiator in the Islamabad process was the same writer of the letter, and we saw that the US President recently also announced that that process was a waste of time in our opinion," he said. "That said, any diplomatic process should definitely be approached with great caution."

Despite past setbacks, the spokesperson affirmed that Tehran's core proposal remains available for negotiation via regional intermediaries, provided Washington acts in good faith.

"The diplomatic initiative that the Islamic Republic of Iran put forward in the last case was a seven-day initiative that was discussed in detail during the Iranian delegation's visit to New York," Baghaei noted. "We received and heard the views of the other side through mediators, and various considerations were exchanged between the parties. Our proposal for this diplomatic process still exists."

Baghaei highlighted that Tehran has streamlined its framework to allow for rapid implementation if the United States agrees to fulfil its obligations.

"The basis for the talks and negotiations between Iran and the United States through mediators is the same seven-step plan of Iran, which has now been condensed and can be implemented within two days," Baghaei stressed. "This also indicates Iran's approach based on good faith. We have announced that if Iran's demands are met, it is possible that both security will return to the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiation process will begin within a short period of time. All of these depend on the American side on how it wants to proceed with this process."

Regarding Tehran's official reply to the Vice President's letter, Baghaei stated that "given that the recipient of the letter is the esteemed Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, he will definitely make a decision about it in a way that he sees fit."

Subsequently, Baghaei said that Iran has officially conveyed its conditions to the US through Qatari-mediated talks in Doha, stressing that the exchange of messages remains active despite growing regional complexity.

"The Deputy Foreign Minister's trip to Doha was to facilitate interactions between Iran and the United States," Baghaei said. "The United States must make a decision. We have conveyed to the American side in a reasonable format everything that was necessary and was considered as legitimate demands of Iran."

Baghaei warned that Washington cannot expect Tehran to maintain Strait of Hormuz security while maintaining an economic blockade.

"You cannot talk about the Strait of Hormuz and worry about insecurity... but continue to economically blockade Iran and abandon everything you have agreed to," Baghaei stated. "This will be a unilateral deal that will simply not be sustainable."

He added that meeting Iran's conditions is "not simply in our national interests unilaterally, but rather a reasonable approach and a way to help restore security to the Strait of Hormuz."

His remarks come after the Wall Street Journal reported that Vance sent the letter to Rezaei on the instructions of US President Donald Trump, seeking to restart negotiations and prevent further US military strikes.

As the possibility of fresh strikes lurks in Iran, the Minister said, We do not rule out any possibility regarding the outbreak of war, and we are prepared for all scenarios. We have upgraded our weaponry, addressed our vulnerabilities, and tested new arms; our forces are at the highest level of readiness.

An American delegation is expected to join Iranian officials for talks in Doha; he said that Qatar has proposed to reduce the implementation period of Irans plan to open the strategic waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, to two days as compared to five.

Earlier, US President Trump stated that Washington is in no hurry to end its war with Iran, characterising the ongoing hostilities as "not a typical war" while maintaining that time favours the American side despite months of fighting and repeated diplomatic efforts failing to yield a lasting settlement. (ANI)