Tehran refuses to accept 'excessive' US demands, deal to end war still distant, Iran official says
Iran and the United States are far from reaching a deal to end the war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday morning, adding that Tehran would not accept Washington's "excessive demands."Tehran's conditions would have to be met if the US wants the Strait of Hormuz opened, the official said, adding that nuclear talks could begin afterwards.Mediators, the official said, were working hard to narrow the diplomatic gaps between Tehran and Washington.The official also warned that Iran was prepared to respond forcefully to US strikes, both in the region and beyond.
The comments come at a time of heightened diplomatic efforts, with Qatar acting as a key intermediary, to prevent a potential return to active conflict after the midterms. US strikes Iran's Qeshm IslandOn Monday night, a US official confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that the US carried out strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.The strikes, initially reported by the Wall Street Journal, appeared to be limited and were not a resumption of major combat operations, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity."IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) personnel launched a missile from Qeshm Island toward an American aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz, and in response, the Americans launched a surface-to-air missile in self-defense," a US official told the Post.Ariella Roitman and Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article says Tehran's conditions must be met before the Strait of Hormuz reopens, and it calls Washington's demands 'excessive' in the official's words. It never says what Iran's conditions are: an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, permission for Iranian oil sales and the lifting of new sanctions. The outlet reported the blockade itself days earlier. Without this, a reader believes Iran is keeping Hormuz shut to extract unnamed concessions, when its main condition is that the US lift its own blockade.
How we know
- Ynet News (English) reported“the U.S. would end its naval blockade of Iranian ports”Iran-US talks stall as Arab states warn Tehran against infrastructure attacks (opens in a new tab)
- The Jerusalem Post wrote earlier“The blockade will remain in full force and effect”Iran is in close contact with mediators on seven-day plan, foreign minister says (opens in a new tab)
Left out here: Drops what it reported before
The article speaks only of 'the war' and of Iran and the United States. It does not say that this is the US-Israeli war on Iran, launched by the US and Israel in February, which is how this outlet itself described it days before. A reader may take the war as a two-party confrontation between Iran and the US.
How we know
- The Jerusalem Post wrote earlier“a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran”Iranian negotiators in Doha to continue talks to end the US-Iran war, official says (opens in a new tab)
- The Jerusalem Post wrote earlier“the war that the US and Israel launched in February”Iran is in close contact with mediators on seven-day plan, foreign minister says (opens in a new tab)