Middle East | U.S.-Iran War

The list of demands from Iran can’t have surprised the White House.

Hardliners have been repeating the mantra on a daily basis: the limited agreement in the works with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz is not the same as reopening the vital waterway in the way Washington wants.

For that, they say, “America must correct its behavior.”

Tehran has now spelled out what means, laying out a series of conditions that appear to go beyond the memorandum of understanding which was agreed in June but later suspended amid US strikes on Iran, Iranian retaliation across the Middle East and a resurgence of attacks on shipping.

On Saturday, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a highly influential figure in the Revolutionary Guards, reeled off a maximalist set of demands.

That Iran is issuing such demands underlines the perception that Tehran believes it has the upper hand. CNN has reported on dwindling US munitions – something angrily denied by President Trump – and suggestions that his top general is looking for an “off-ramp” in the conflict.

It is also likely that Iran has taken notice of how many times Trump has threatened major strikes before not following through on the threat.

Zolghadr demanded the US lift its naval blockade and withdraw its military forces from around Iran.

The US must also pay damages caused to Iran by the wars this year and in June last year (which was principally conducted by Israel), he said. And the US must lift sanctions and release, unconditionally, Iranian assets frozen abroad.

Courtesy: cnn.com