Iran's Rezaei ties Hormuz and nuclear talks to US accepting Iran's conditions

Update, 31 October, 22:07 Israel time

Rezaei also said the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed and there will be no negotiations until Iran's conditions are met. N12 quoted him as tying both to what he called Iran's seven conditions. The Times of Israel reported that he ruled out talks on the nuclear programme unless Washington accepts Iran's demands, and said Hormuz would remain shut until then. Neither report lists the conditions.

He gave an account of a series of US proposals. According to N12, he said:

• The second US proposal improved on the first.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi then told the Americans that Iran suspected them of wanting to negotiate and then attack after the elections.
• A third US reply followed that Rezaei called much better, saying it made clear the Americans were prepared to accept Iran's seven conditions.
• Some points remained unclear to Iran; answers on them were passed to Araghchi the previous day, and discussions in a new round had begun.

The reports do not say which elections Araghchi was referring to, and no US response to Rezaei's account has been reported.

Further outlets have now carried the doctrine remarks. News.co.il reported him as saying Iran is weighing whether to stay with its longstanding ban on nuclear weapons if fighting resumes, with no policy change yet decided. Israel Hayom also reported the Vance letter remarks and, like The Times of Israel earlier, called him head of the council; News.co.il calls him its secretary, as N12 does.

The story as first reported

Mohsen Rezaei, a senior Iranian security official, said he has read a letter from US Vice President JD Vance but has not yet answered it, and described the American tone as completely different from before. The Times of Israel reported that he made the remarks in a video aired on Iranian television, calling the shift a good sign and saying it showed Iran had consolidated its victory. He declined to discuss what the letter contained.

In the same appearance, Rezaei said Iran is debating whether to keep its existing nuclear doctrine if fighting breaks out again, while stressing that no new decision has been made. According to the Israeli broadcaster N12, he said the question under discussion was whether, in the event of renewed war, Iran would want to continue with the doctrine it held in the past. The Times of Israel characterised this as a debate over whether to maintain Iran's longstanding ban on nuclear weapons.

Who Rezaei is and the body he speaks for

Rezaei is associated in both outlets' reports with Iran's Supreme National Security Council, the country's top forum on security matters. The two organisations describe his role differently: N12 calls him the council's secretary, while The Times of Israel calls him its head. This article does not resolve that difference.

In his own words, as relayed by N12, he said no new decision had been taken either in the government or by the leadership of the state, and that nothing had been formally adopted by the authorities.

The Vance letter and the state of talks

The Times of Israel reported that Vance sent a letter to Iranian officials in recent days as part of an effort to revive negotiations, even as the United States and Israel have stepped up threats to order new strikes. The outlet said indirect mediation through Qatar was continuing, though Iranian officials had said earlier the same day that they had no plans to meet US officials.

Rezaei explained his silence on the letter's content by pointing to the American side. N12 quoted him as saying that because the Americans had not published anything from the letter, he too would say nothing about it for now. He also set out a condition for any nuclear discussion: according to N12, he said that anyone wishing to enter talks on nuclear issues must first recognise the rights of the Iranian people. He added that Iran would now move forward.

What the doctrine debate refers to

The Times of Israel describes Iran's current position as a longstanding ban on nuclear weapons. Rezaei's remarks, as reported by N12, do not use the word weapons in the quoted passage; he speaks of the doctrine Iran had in the past and whether to keep it if war returns.

He linked the debate to public pressure and to recent attacks. N12 quoted him as saying the Iranian people have demands and are looking for logic in events, because they see that the enemy came and struck all of Iran's nuclear facilities. He did not name the attacker in the quoted passage.

Where the two outlets differ

• His title: secretary of the council (N12) versus head of the council (The Times of Israel).
• The doctrine: N12's quotation refers to keeping or changing a past doctrine; The Times of Israel frames it specifically as a nuclear weapons ban.
• The broadcast: The Times of Israel refers to Iranian television and state TV; N12 does not say where the remarks were made.

What the reports do not say

Neither outlet reports what Vance's letter says, when exactly it was delivered, or to which Iranian officials it was addressed. Rezaei himself declined to describe it, and the reports do not indicate whether the US side has commented on it.

The reports do not say who is taking part in the doctrine discussion, how far it has progressed, or whether any timetable exists for a decision. They do not explain which rights Rezaei expects the United States to recognise before nuclear talks, and they do not specify which attacks on nuclear facilities he was referring to or when they took place. There is also no detail on the substance of the Qatari mediation or on any response from Israeli officials to Rezaei's remarks.