Iran defends seven demands as mediation continues under US military pressure

Iran says it is maintaining seven demands for ending the war as mediators try to prevent renewed large-scale fighting with the United States. The conditions include lifting the blockade on southern Iranian ports and sanctions, while disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz remain unresolved.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's dismissal of some demands as unrealistic. Baghaei argued that Iran's proposal could restore security to the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. That is Tehran's assessment of its terms, not an agreement accepted by Washington.

The proposals largely seek a return to a memorandum of understanding signed in Islamabad in June, alongside additional Iranian conditions concerning the strait's future. Negotiations through mediators and an exchange of proposals should not be confused with a completed ceasefire or confirmation that either side has accepted the other's demands.

Iranian official Ahmad Nafisi said Qeshm island was targeted in overnight US strikes but that residential and commercial areas and vital infrastructure were not damaged. The United States did not directly acknowledge those particular strikes. The no-damage account is therefore an attributed Iranian statement, not an independently verified assessment.

Tehran says it will not surrender its highly enriched uranium but is open to diluting the material. Shipping risks also persist, with Iranian and US statements differing over mines, navigation and passage through Hormuz. Those contested accounts leave both the military situation and the diplomatic outcome uncertain.