What is Iran looking for in any upcoming talks with the US?

What is Iran looking for in any upcoming talks with the US?

But on Monday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, rejected the premise that any technical-level negotiations with the US would be held in Qatar this week, and instead said that consultations would be ongoing with Qatari officials.

Mehdi Fazaeli, a member of the Iranian supreme leader’s office, earlier told state television that talks scheduled with the US for Sunday were cancelled by Iranian negotiators after fundamental disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz and other issues. The reciprocal US-Iranian strikes, as well as Iran’s signalling that it is in no rush to return to talks, point to the fact that any upcoming discussions between Tehran and Washington will focus on implementing what has already been agreed to – particularly when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime route that Iran seized upon as its major leverage point against the US during the war. Last week’s strikes were the first by either side since the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on June 17. The attacks restarted after Iran said a US-backed evacuation route for stranded vessels was unacceptable. A container ship and a tanker using the route were attacked on Thursday. The US, which blamed Iran for the attacks, then bombed infrastructure and installations on Iran’s southern islands, before Iran attacked US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Both sides accused each other of violating commitments made under the MoU, including Article 5, which says Iran will “make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa”. The recent strikes have made clear the danger a lack of coordination over the Strait of Hormuz poses. Iran’s position is that it will not be bypassed, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying on Sunday that other countries should not “interfere in the issue of managing the Strait of Hormuz and the arrangements adopted by the Islamic Republic of Iran for reopening the Strait of Hormuz”. The foreign minister said that it would take at least a month to return to the negotiating table.