Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which broke out after US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28.
The two sides have held a single round of talks so far amid a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8.
“As we announced yesterday, our concerns were conveyed to the American side,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday, adding that exchanges were “continuing through the Pakistani mediator”.
Baqaei defended Iran’s demands, which included the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and the lifting of long-standing sanctions.
“The points raised are Iranian demands that have been firmly defended by the Iranian negotiating team in every round of negotiations,” he said, defending an Iranian stipulation that the US pay war reparations, describing the conflict as “illegal and baseless”.
On the possibility of another military confrontation, Baqaei said Iran was “fully prepared for any eventuality”.
On Sunday, Iran’s Fars news agency said Washington had presented a five-point list, which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.
The US had refused to release “even 25 percent” of Iran’s frozen assets or pay any reparations for war damage, according to Fars.
Iran has called for the lifting of all US sanctions and the release of its assets frozen abroad.
Iran’s Mehr news agency said “the United States, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations”.
In an earlier proposal, which was sent last week, Iran had called for an end to the war on all fronts, including Israel’s campaign in Lebanon, as well as a halt to a US naval blockade on Iranian ports in place since April 13.
Fars said that Iranian proposal had emphasised that Tehran would continue to manage the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy conduit which Iran has largely kept closed since the start of the war and wants to charge ships to traverse.
In furtherance of that objective, Iran’s top security body announced the formation of a new body to manage the strait.
On its official X account, the Supreme National Security Council shared a post for the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, saying it would provide “real-time updates on the #Hormuz_Strait operations and latest developments”.
The account of the Revolutionary Guards navy shared the same post.
It was not immediately clear what the new body would do but earlier this month Iranian English-speaking broadcaster Press TV said it constituted a “system to exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz” and that ships passing through the strait were sent “regulations” from the email info@pgsa.ir. (AFP)
