Iran’s Mojtaba Khamenei reiterates conditions for ending war with US

TEHRAN – Iran’s Supreme Leader reiterated his country’s conditions for ending the war with the US, amid a regional diplomatic push to avert a fresh round of fighting in the Persian Gulf. Mojtaba Khamenei emphasised the need to implement “the conditions set out by the country’s officials, with the aim of ending the war and the ‘neither war nor peace’ situation” in a meeting with national security chief Mohsen Rezaee, according to a Telegram statement.Iran has previously said the US must end a naval blockade of its ports on the Persian Gulf and lift sanctions as preconditions of peace talks, while Washington is pushing for Iran to make concessions on its nuclear programme.Khamenei’s statement comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at preventing another round of US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic and resolving the mounting conflict in Yemen between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi rebels.Since Oct 25, Tehran has hosted a delegation from Qatar – a key mediator with the US – and top security officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.On Oct 27, China’s Foreign Ministry said it’s also dispatching special envoys to the region “to prevent worsening of the situation.”As well as the war, Khamenei and Rezaee also discussed “protecting national and regional security through the exercise of control over the Strait of Hormuz,” Oct 27’s Telegram statement said.Disagreements over the strait led to the collapse of the last ceasefire between Iran and the US in June.Tehran insists that it retain control over the waterway, which is vital for energy supplies, while the US wants to restore freedom of passage.The countries are also at odds over Iran’s nuclear programme and whether the Islamic Republic should be able to enrich uranium. Khamenei is Iran’s ultimate decision-maker but hasn’t appeared in public since the start of the war, sparking speculation about his health and the extent of his control over policy. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Oct 27 that Khamenei was in “complete health and maintains full command of the country’s domestic and international affairs” when he met with him last week.Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has been meeting various senior officials and leaders at a gas summit in Moscow, including Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.Pezeshkian also met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Oct 27 where he said the Middle East can solve its problems without the involvement of the United States.“I believe we are capable of resolving our problems in the region without relying on the United States,” Pezeshkian said at a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow.“Our trade is expanding and growing day by day. US actions in the region make it easier for us to move towards greater multilateralism and strengthen our cooperation with you and other countries subject to unilateral US sanctions,” he told Putin.Putin said he discussed the war with Pezeshkian, expressing hope that the situation would improve.“We spoke earlier, one-on-one, about the situation in the region – a situation that, undoubtedly, cannot help but cause concern,” he said, adding that he hoped it would “evolve in a positive direction”.Pezeshkian said he was confident the will existed on both sides to expand cooperation in science, industry, culture, security and military affairs. BLOOMBERG, AFP