What is Iran looking for in any upcoming talks with the US?

After Iran and the United States exchanged attacks at the end of last week, attention has once again turned to diplomacy, with President Donald Trump saying that the two sides would hold talks in Doha on Tuesday.

But on Monday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, rejected the premise that any technical-level negotiations with the US would be held in Qatar this week, and instead said that consultations would be ongoing with Qatari officials.

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Mehdi Fazaeli, a member of the Iranian supreme leader’s office, earlier told state television that talks scheduled with the US for Sunday were cancelled by Iranian negotiators after fundamental disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz and other issues.

The reciprocal US-Iranian strikes, as well as Iran’s signalling that it is in no rush to return to talks, point to the fact that any upcoming discussions between Tehran and Washington will focus on implementing what has already been agreed to – particularly when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime route that Iran seized upon as its major leverage point against the US during the war.

Last week’s strikes were the first by either side since the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on June 17 . The attacks restarted after Iran said a US-backed evacuation route for stranded vessels was unacceptable.

A container ship and a tanker using the route were attacked on Thursday. The US, which blamed Iran for the attacks, then bombed infrastructure and installations on Iran’s southern islands, before Iran attacked US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Both sides accused each other of violating commitments made under the MoU, including Article 5, which says Iran will “make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa”.

The recent strikes have made clear the danger a lack of coordination over the Strait of Hormuz poses. Iran’s position is that it will not be bypassed, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying on Sunday that other countries should not “interfere in the issue of managing the Strait of Hormuz and the arrangements adopted by the Islamic Republic of Iran for reopening the Strait of Hormuz”.

The foreign minister said that it would take at least a month to return the strait – one of the world’s most important energy export routes – to its capacity before the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February.

A military hotline between Iran and the US has also been floated by US Vice President JD Vance, but it does not appear to have had any tangible impact so far on preventing armed confrontations in the strait. The IRGC has indicated that it is not interested in such a channel.

Iranian authorities have also said they plan on entrenching their hold over the Strait of Hormuz by extracting fees for insurance, environmental and other services, but any sort of tolls have been vehemently rejected by Washington and others. The MoU stipulates there will be no tolls for the 60-day duration.

Access to frozen funds

A big point of contention for Iran – and something that will also likely be on the agenda during any talks – is gaining access to the country’s own funds that have been frozen abroad for many years, as a result of US sanctions championed by the Trump administration.

Trump and other officials have emphasised that any access to funds will only be made possible later, based on Iran’s performance in enforcing commitments.

Iranian officials are trying to avoid a repeat of earlier arrangements in which funds were released in name only, but remained effectively inaccessible. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran expects that at least $6bn held by Qatar will be released.

The MoU stipulates that Iran’s funds will be “fully available for use” once the agreement is implemented, with release procedures to be mutually agreed during negotiations.

It also says the funds must be fully usable, whether they stay in the original account or are transferred, and that they must be payable to any ultimate beneficiary designated by Iran’s Central Bank. The US is to undertake issuance of all necessary licences and authorisations.

Trump said Iran will use the released money to buy corn and other humanitarian items such as food and medicine. Iran’s central bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati said that while the country may opt to buy agricultural products from the US – as it has done for years – if their quality and price are agreeable, the text of the MoU does not obligate it to do so.

Lebanon

Iran has a number of other goals for its participation in any upcoming negotiations. They include US recognition of Iranian sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, US military pullback from Iran’s periphery, halting the imposition of new sanctions or regional force build-up during the MoU period, a reconstruction or economic development package and the introduction of formal monitoring and dispute resolution mechanisms.

Lebanon is also a major focus for Iran.

The first point of the MoU stipulated the immediate and permanent halt of military operations on “all fronts”, including Lebanon, where Tehran-backed Hezbollah has been fighting an armed resistance against Israel for years.

While Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and other parts of the country have decreased in intensity recently to prevent another direct confrontation with Iran, the US has ended up entrenching Israel’s military presence inside Lebanon through a deal brokered with the government of Lebanon.

The agreement, signed on Friday, does not obligate Israeli soldiers to evacuate southern Lebanon or halt all attacks, effectively undermining the MoU signed with Iran.

Hezbollah has also blasted the deal, but Lebanese government officials have endorsed it, seeing a path to a future where Hezbollah is fully disarmed and replaced in southern Lebanon by the country’s official army.

Nuclear talks, but only after guarantees

It has already been established that Iran’s missile programme will not be subject to negotiations related to the MoU.

But some of the most hardline voices in Tehran want to go further, and believe that the country’s nuclear programme, over which two wars were started by Israel and the US over the past year, must no longer be discussed at all with foreign powers.

More than 60 members – or nearly three-quarters – of the powerful Assembly of Experts signed a statement that said negotiators must not cross Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s perceived red lines. In this vein, they demanded no talks on Iran’s nuclear rights, revenge for assassinated leaders, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, war compensation and the removal of sanctions.

Iranian authorities have previously expressed willingness to make nuclear concessions, including dilution of highly -enriched uranium now buried under the rubble of bombed facilities. But they have said that this will only be done after a clear step-by-step timetable that will guarantee Iran will enjoy the economic benefits of sanctions being lifted.