A potential peace deal between the United States and Iran hinges on the Trump administration agreeing to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, a senior Iranian official told CNN on Friday, warning that the US would “enter into a dark corridor” should it resume fighting.
“The negotiations are at a deadlock and (US President Donald) Trump must break this deadlock,” Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN in an exclusive interview in Tehran. “The ball is in Trump’s court.”
In an interview with CNN, Rezaei shed light on the thinking inside Iran’s strategic decision-making circles about the country’s postwar vision, the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, and how Iran may act if it is attacked again.
Here’s what Rezaei said:
Releasing frozen Iranian assets:
He framed the demand as a trust-building measure, saying the Trump administration’s potential release of the funds would be “a new horizon for the future” of Iran and America: “If he (Trump) wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of trust that Iran wants to have with Trump – this is a test that America must pass and the path will be opened,” he said. “This is our own money, not America’s money.”
Warning against return to war:
Rezaei warned that Iran will “drag the war” beyond the Persian Gulf if the US resumes the conflict, potentially expanding military operations from the Strait of Hormuz to the Indian Ocean, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. “We will give another dimension to the war by attacking these other American bases that we have been attacking so far,” he said, adding that “the possibility of war is low.”
On a potential meeting between Trump and Ayatollah Khamenei:
He rejected the prospect of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution meeting Trump. “This will not happen, right now we are in the first stage of negotiations, and Mr. Trump has brought the negotiations to a standstill. This will not happen.” This week, Trump said he and Ayatollah Khamenei “seem to be getting along well” and that he would be “honored” to meet him.
Reiterates sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz:
Rezaei said Iran and Oman have sovereignty of the key waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the war, and will therefore manage it together. He rejected framing the demand for ship passage fees at the Strait as a toll, saying Iran would charge a maintenance fee, as it shouldn’t have to shoulder the cost of the strait’s management.
He also cast doubt on the durability of a nuclear agreement with Trump, citing his withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and his strategy of “ambiguity” in talks.
Should talks fail, Rezaei said Iran is prepared for countering a potential US invasion of its territory, “then the world will understand Iran’s true capabilities, because our land power is many times greater than our missiles.”
