TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that a United States effort to open dialogue with Tehran is “a positive step”, but that there are currently no plans for meetings with US officials over the eight-month-old war. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Araghchi said Iran had studied a letter sent by US Vice President JD Vance in high-level meetings, and that an Iranian delegation has travelled to Doha, a day after Qatari mediators were in Tehran in an apparent bid to revive the US-Iran ceasefire. One of his aides is in Qatar to continue consultations, he said.

“The American side's attempt to open the door to dialogue and understanding more broadly is a positive step,” the foreign minister told Al Jazeera. He warned, however: “If Washington's goal in sending this letter is to stir up discord, it would be yet another mistake to add to its previous ones.” He added: “We see no need to meet with the Americans at this stage. Our conditions are clear, and mediators are continuing their consultations regarding them.” This site reported the Vance letter on October 29, when the Wall Street Journal said Vance had written to Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei to test whether a framework for negotiations exists; President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Vance had contacted Iran to help it get medical supplies, Reuters reported.

Source: Al Jazeera, via Jamaica Inquirer, Oct 31

The Hormuz terms — and a two-day reopening proposal

Araghchi set out Tehran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which he said would pave the way for renewed negotiations with Washington. Talks with Qatari mediators had shortened the time needed to implement Iran's proposal, he said: “The Qatari side proposed shortening the implementation period of the Iranian proposal to five days. We have reached a proposal at this stage that reduces the implementation period to two days.” Iran's conditions, as he listed them, include lifting the sanctions imposed following the Islamabad memorandum, reducing US forces in the region, restoring oil waivers and releasing all of Iran's frozen funds, including those held in Qatar. Iran is also demanding recognition of the shipping routes through the strait that it discussed with Oman, and the closure of other routes, he said.

At the same time, Araghchi said Iran does not rule out the possibility of an attack against it. “We are prepared for all scenarios,” he said. “We have upgraded our weaponry, addressed our vulnerabilities, and tested new arms. Our forces are at the highest level of readiness.” In a separate statement on Saturday, Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Major General Ali Abdollahi, said any attack on Iran would meet a response without geographical limits, according to Source First News' account of the day's reporting.

Saturday's remarks are Tehran's first public response to the reports — carried by this site earlier on Saturday — that Qatari mediators' marathon talks in Tehran on Friday had produced “positive progress” and that an American delegation was expected to join Iranian officials for direct talks in Doha, a report the Times of Israel attributed to the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. Araghchi dismissed talk of an imminent meeting with the Americans as media speculation. The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, said the Iranian delegation was in Doha to advance talks with Qatar, not to negotiate with US officials, and Iran International reported that Qatari mediators were meeting Iran's deputy foreign minister in Doha on Saturday, citing an Axios correspondent who said Tehran and Washington had not agreed to resume direct talks. Al Jazeera's Tehran correspondent, Resul Serdar Atas, said there was “no remarkable flexibility in Iran's position”, with Tehran insisting on the same demands.