Iran is making absurd demands in the ongoing backchannel talks, calling for the U.S. to pay war reparations and close its military bases in the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets say.
According to Reuters, Iranian negotiators are demanding “significant concessions from the United States.” They want the U.S. to lift all the sanctions and allow Tehran to assert full control over the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s busiest oil shipping lane.
“In any talks with the U.S., Iran would not only demand an end to the war but concessions that are likely red lines for U.S. President Donald Trump – guarantees against future military action, compensation for wartime losses and formal control of the Strait of Hormuz,” the news agency reported.
The unreasonable stance taken by the Iranian regime — or what remains of it after 25 days of war — shows that it is not serious about negotiating a ceasefire. The U.S. officials promptly dismissed these outlandish demands as “ridiculous and unrealistic,” the business daily reported.
This is not the first time the regime has made such tall demands. In 2021, Tehran asked for $1 trillion in reparations in exchange for a nuclear deal with the Biden administration.
The WSJ reports:
Iranian representatives have let the Trump administration know they have a high bar for re-entering negotiations for a cease-fire deal. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has consolidated power within the shattered Iranian regime and is making demands such as the closure of all American bases in the Gulf and reparations for attacks on Iran, said people familiar with the matter.Other demands include:A new order for the Strait of Hormuz that would allow Iran to collect fees from ships that transit the waterway, as Egypt does now with the Suez Canal.Guarantees that the war wouldn’t restart and an end to Israel’s strikes on the Iran-aligned Lebanese militia Hezbollah.Lifting all sanctions on Iran.Permitting Iran to keep its missile program with no negotiations to limit it.A U.S. official called the demands ridiculous and unrealistic. The posturing will make reaching a deal with Tehran harder than before Trump started the war, Arab and U.S. officials said. They said the first messages of the new diplomatic round came from Middle Eastern intermediaries late last week, and the U.S. and Iran aren’t in direct contact.
The Iranian demands come to light after The New York Times reported Tuesday that “the United States has sent Iran a 15-point plan for ending the war in the region.” The dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program and ending its support from terrorist proxies are among the key demands of the Trump plan.
Shortly after Pakistan’s officials acknowledge handing over the Trump plan to Iran on Wednesday after, the regime rejected it. “Iran on Wednesday dismissed an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East, issuing its own counterproposal instead,” The Associated Press reported.
The Iranian counterplan, as anticipated, called for reparations and made other demands — without offering anything in return.
“Iran issued it’s own plan via state TV, which includes a halt to killings of its officials, means to make sure no other war is waged against it, reparations for the war, the end of hostilities and Iran’s “exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz”,” the news agency added.
Amid the ongoing war, it is unclear who speaks for the regime at the negotiations — likely taking place in Turkey or Pakistan. With the new ‘Supreme Leader,’ Mojtaba Khamenei, missing in action, many media outlets believe that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, is the new strongman in Tehran. On Monday, Ghalibaf denied holding any ceasefire talks.
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