Iran Denies Talks With U.S. and Says Hormuz Stays Shut Until Its Demands Are Met

Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said on 11 November that Tehran is waiting for a U.S. response to its seven conditions for peace talks, and he denied that the two countries are holding negotiations. Al Jazeera reported his remarks.

Speaking to Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV, Rezaei called claims of continuing negotiations, or of a meeting in Qatar, "a pure lie." He said the initial U.S. response to Iran's conditions was "insufficient and deceptive," and that Iran is awaiting an explicit and clear answer.

Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route in the Gulf, will not reopen until Washington meets those conditions. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait could be reopened within two days if Iran's demands are met. Both officials cited the lifting of sanctions, which are government restrictions on trade and money flows, and the end of the U.S. naval blockade, a military measure that restricts shipping. They also cited an end to fighting on all fronts, especially Israel's attacks on Lebanon.

Shipping in the area was disrupted on the same day. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that three oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines while transiting an "unauthorised route" in the eastern part of the strait. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency, which reports on shipping incidents, said it had recorded incidents involving two tankers near the strait. One of them was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman's Lima village.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he saw "positive momentum" toward ending the conflict with Iran, and that new attacks on Iran were unnecessary. In Paris, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was "open to diplomacy," and that further strikes would not be needed if its objectives were achieved through economic means.