Iran yesterday said that it had demanded the release of its frozen assets and the end of a US blockade of its ports, after US President Donald Trump angrily rejected Tehran’s terms for ending the Middle East conflict.
The sharp exchange of messages raised the specter of a return to open conflict in the Gulf, dashed hopes of a quick negotiated deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, and sent oil prices higher.
Trump reacted with fury after Iran responded to the latest US proposed outline for peace talks with a counteroffer he deemed totally unacceptable.
Photo: AFP
The impasse unnerved global energy markets, with international benchmark Brent crude prices rising 4.65 percent to US$99.95 a barrel during early Monday trade in Asia.
The US leader did not say what had offended him in Iran’s response, but the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had called for an end to the US naval blockade and to the war “across the region” — implying a halt to Israel’s strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Crucially, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters, Iran demanded the “release of assets belonging to the Iranian people, which have for years been unjustly trapped in foreign banks.”
This would suggest not just a return to the “status quo” before the US and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, but a victory for the Iranian government’s long-standing campaign against economic isolation.
“We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran’s legitimate rights,” Baqaei said.
An end to international sanctions would also diminish Washington’s leverage over Tehran as it tries to secure a lasting end to Iran’s nuclear enrichment.
The US, Israel and their allies have long accused Iran of seeking a nuclear bomb, an accusation Tehran has repeatedly denied.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the conflict would not end until Iran’s nuclear facilities are destroyed.
“It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material — enriched uranium — that has to be taken out of Iran,” he told US broadcaster CBS. “There’s still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled.”
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Iran’s counterproposal had included the possibility of diluting some of its highly enriched uranium, with the rest transferred to a third nation.
Iran had sought guarantees that the transferred uranium would be returned if negotiations failed or Washington abandoned the agreement, sources told the Journal.
Trump is expected to press Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — a major buyer of Iranian oil — on the Iran issue when he visits Beijing on Thursday, a senior US official said.
The lack of a path to a resolution has focused concern on the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran is restricting maritime traffic and setting up a payment mechanism to charge tolls for crossing ships.
US officials have said that it would be “unacceptable” for Tehran to control the international waterway — the export route for one-fifth of the world’s oil.
As diplomatic momentum appeared to dwindle, fresh drone attacks in the Gulf on Sunday rattled the ceasefire.
The United Arab Emirates said its air defenses intercepted a drone attack launched from Iran, while Kuwait reported “hostile drones” in its airspace. The Qatari Ministry of Defense also said a freighter arriving in its waters from Abu Dhabi was hit by a drone.
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