Iran holds firm on seven demands as US strikes Qeshm and diplomats search for a way out

US forces struck the southern Iranian island of Qeshm overnight, even as diplomats from Qatar to Paris worked to prevent the nine-month-old war from spiralling into something far larger. Iran's response was unambiguous: the attacks change nothing about its terms for ending the conflict.

Ahmad Nafisi, deputy governor for Hormozgan province, confirmed Monday morning that Qeshm was targeted but said no residential or commercial areas or vital infrastructure were damaged. The US did not directly acknowledge the strikes, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio described similar recent attacks on Qeshm as 'defensive' — consistent with Washington's characterisation of previous strikes on Iranian air defences and radar installations, the latest of which President Donald Trump acknowledged on Friday.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei pushed back sharply at a Tehran news conference, rejecting Rubio's dismissal of Iran's seven demands as 'ridiculous and really not realistic.'

Iran's plan is still the most logical plan on the table. I think it can lead to security returning to the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, and create the grounds for a process.— Esmail Baghaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman

Those demands include lifting US sanctions, ending the naval blockade on Iran's southern ports, unfreezing Iranian assets, reducing the US military presence in the region, and halting hostilities on all fronts. According to Al Jazeera, the conditions broadly mirror the Islamabad memorandum of understanding that Iran and the US signed in June, with Iran adding further stipulations regarding the future of the Strait of Hormuz.

Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi framed Iran's position in starker terms on Sunday, posting a social media statement that laid out a compressed timeline: if Washington meets the conditions on day one, Tehran would reopen Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes on day two. The alternative, he warned, was war.

Our 2-day proposal stands: meet the requirements, including end to war on all fronts, and you will see results. Or choose war, and see our alert and battle-hardened Warriors rain down hell.— Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister

Rubio, speaking to reporters Sunday before departing for the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris, offered a blunt assessment of where talks stand.

I wouldn't say we're on a verge of a breakthrough. The president would always prefer to solve this and every problem diplomatically. Sometimes that's not possible, unfortunately. But if there's a chance to do it, we'll explore it. Right now it hasn't been very productive, because the Iranian demands are simply not just unacceptable, but in some cases, outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic.— Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State

Speaking by telephone to CNN's Jim Sciutto on Sunday, Trump said the resumption of strikes hinged on 'whether or not they sign a very strong agreement,' while describing a return to open hostilities as 'highly unlikely.' Al Jazeera also reported that he said the US military had drawn up a target list that included civilian infrastructure — among it 38 bridges — should the war restart at scale.

I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard. I hit them so hard. You don't know how hard I hit them. So, it's highly unlikely I'll have to. They're withering away financially. We've hit them militarily. We could finish them off.— Donald Trump, US President

The Strait of Hormuz remains a live flashpoint. Iranian authorities have continued warning ships to avoid 'unauthorised' routes or face attack. On Sunday, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Hossein Mohebbi pushed back against US assertions that naval mines had been cleared from the waterway, stating that 'nobody dares enter the Strait of Hormuz to remove the mines.' According to Iranian state television, 11 tankers were attacked over the past ten days, leaving four unable to complete their transit. IRGC-affiliated media also claimed overnight that maritime navigation systems in the southern waterway were targeted, disrupting the US-coordinated oil shuttle system.

Analysts see the structural problem clearly. According to Al Jazeera, Andreas Krieg, an associate professor at King's College London, said Washington's central objection is that Iran wants the benefits of a deal before offering the concessions that would warrant those benefits.

Reopening Hormuz within two days sounds accommodating, but it changes the timetable rather than the substance of the bargain.— Andreas Krieg, Associate Professor, King's College London

Iran is going beyond a ceasefire, trying to translate its wartime leverage into a new regional security arrangement on its own terms.— Andreas Krieg, Associate Professor, King's College London

Rubio and other US officials have also objected to Iran's demand for an end to hostilities across the region, which would constrain Israel's military freedom of action. On Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that Israel's military mission in Iran was not yet complete and warned Lebanon's Hezbollah that it risked further territorial losses if it joined an Iranian attack.

Regarding the nuclear dimension, Tehran has said it will not give up its highly enriched uranium — thought to lie buried beneath the rubble of facilities struck by the US and Israel last year — though it has indicated a willingness to downblend the material. No international inspectors are currently permitted access to Iranian nuclear sites, with the sole exception of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Baghaei dismissed a US announcement of a reward of up to $20 million for information on Iran's nuclear programme as a political ploy by the Trump administration following the Republican Party's heavy losses in midterm elections.

Monday brought tentative signs of diplomatic activity, with reports indicating that Trump was scheduled to meet Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at the White House. Qatar has been serving as a key mediator, with indirect US-Iran talks conducted through Qatari channels. Back-channel efforts have been under way since at least September 22, when representatives of the US and Iran held indirect talks through mediators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Krieg cautioned that the present dynamic has its own built-in logic of escalation: Iran will push harder to make Gulf states feel the economic pain of Washington's choices, calculating that they will in turn press Trump toward a compromise. But the gap between what each side will accept may be widening faster than mediators can close it.

Washington may believe it is conducting a limited campaign of coercion, while Tehran increasingly sees an unrestricted economic war against its survival. At some point, Iran may decide that the costs of continued restraint exceed the risks of escalation.— Andreas Krieg, Associate Professor, King's College London

Why it matters — The Strait of Hormuz carries a major share of global seaborne oil, and a breakdown in negotiations — or a miscalculation by either side — could send energy prices surging and draw the wider region into open conflict.

Sources differ on Whether naval mines have been cleared from the Strait of Hormuz: The US has claimed all naval mines have been cleared. (aljazeera.com) vs IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi rejected this, saying 'nobody dares enter the Strait of Hormuz to remove the mines.' (aljazeera.com)

Sources differ on State of diplomatic negotiations: Iran has rejected US characterisations of progress as 'fake news about imaginary talks.' (moneycontrol.com) vs Rubio acknowledged talks have not been productive but said the US would explore diplomacy if possible. (upi.com)

Reported by aljazeera.com, upi.com, reuters.com, moneycontrol.com