Rezaei to Qatar PM: US Must Meet Iran’s Conditions Before Hormuz Reopens

By Staff, Agencies

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Major General Mohsen Rezaei told Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani that Washington must take concrete steps to meet Tehran’s conditions before Iran moves to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The two officials met in Tehran on Thursday to discuss regional developments, with Rezaei warning that any hostile US action against Iran would bring consequences for its military and economic interests “that will go down in history.”

On maritime navigation, he stressed that Washington must act first, after which Iran would take steps toward reopening the strait.

Al Thani reaffirmed Qatar’s commitment to continued coordination with Iran, saying Doha remains keen to cooperate with Tehran amid the region’s sensitive circumstances.

The visit had been announced a day earlier by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, who said the Qatari premier would discuss Doha’s mediation efforts and initiatives to prevent further escalation.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the talks would cover freedom of navigation through Hormuz, restoring conditions to those prevailing before February 28, easing tensions and creating space for dialogue.

Meanwhile, Qatar and Pakistan have been leading mediation efforts toward a final agreement to end the US war on Iran, which erupted in late February and was not fully halted by the memorandum of understanding signed in June.

Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir traveled to Tehran earlier this week with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to relay Iran’s Hormuz conditions to Washington.

Iranian officials told Munir that Tehran’s central demand is for the US to return to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding and fully implement its terms, including Article 5.

Iranian officials have repeatedly linked any reopening of the strait to Washington’s conduct. IRG spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said Wednesday that Hormuz remains fully under Iranian control and would not reopen unless the US accepts Iran’s conditions.

He added that Tehran and Muscat had separately reached understandings on a temporary joint navigation corridor and mine clearance in the strait.

Separately, a senior Iranian security official cited by Nour News warned that Iran would respond with “serious and swift measures” against US interests in the Gulf if Washington attempts to detain Iranian oil tankers under a “prize courts” mechanism.