Irans conditions after two betrayed negotiations
Iran's conditions after two betrayed negotiations
TEHRAN – Donald Trump is talking to himself. That’s how Iranian officials view the U.S. president’s claims of “successful” and “productive” negotiations with Tehran. According to Iranians, the president has started a war he cannot finish and is desperate to end it. But rather than pursuing diplomacy, his recent overtures are merely ploys to keep oil prices from rising further while he prepares to escalate the conflict.
Iranian experts and news agencies currently assess that the Trump administration will attempt a ground invasion, however improbable its success may be. The president’s repeated references to nonexistent talks may also be a tactic to lull Iranians into lowering their guard, suggesting that the U.S. president has finally come to his senses. But Iran is unlikely to be fooled by the U.S. again, given that the two previous rounds of negotiations—in April, May, and June of 2025, and in February of 2026—ended when the U.S. and Israel launched war against Iran in the midst of diplomatic efforts.
Still, Iranians have laid out their conditions for a ceasefire, likely out of respect for regional countries that have approached them on behalf of the U.S. Their conditions are clear and straightforward.
In recent days, various sources have shared these conditions with Iranian news outlets, conditions that Iran has relayed to Washington through an intermediary—possibly Pakistan, though Tehran has not confirmed this.
The first Iranian condition is an end to all aggression and assassinations, according to sources. The U.S. and Israel believe that by bombing Iranian cities, damaging historical and cultural sites, striking infrastructure, killing civilians, and assassinating top Iranian officials, they can bring about the collapse of the Islamic Republic. While four weeks of war have shown that the two regimes are delusional about the prospects of collapse in Iran, their continued use of the same tactics suggests they are still unwilling to accept that they must stop trying to overthrow the Iranian government.
The second condition is an end to U.S.-Israeli aggression elsewhere in the region, particularly in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel’s ongoing attacks on Arabs demonstrate that the regime and its patron continue to pursue the “Greater Israel” project, which requires that all regional territories either be occupied by Israel or lack a strong, central government.
The third condition is that the U.S. pay damages to Iran. This is a given and has previously been outlined by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei. In his first address as Iran’s Leader earlier this month, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that Iran will either receive damages from the U.S., take them by force, or inflict equal damage on U.S. assets.
The fourth condition is the recognition that the Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-war status. After years of fruitless diplomacy, Iranians have concluded that they must unapologetically use all available means to ensure their people’s safety and well-being. If you are plotting against Iran, you cannot pass through the strait. If your intentions are clear, you may pass—but only after checking with the Iranians.
The final condition is that the U.S. and Israel must provide guarantees that they will not attack Iran again. Experts, however, argue that no verbal or legal guarantees from the U.S. and Israel can be trusted. Iranians, instead, can ensure that the enemy does not consider repeating its actions by exacting an undeniably heavy price during the ongoing war.
source: tehrantimes.com