Iran Says US Reply Falls Short, Hormuz Stays Shut Until 7 Demands Met

Iran's National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei poured cold water on talk of a breakthrough Tuesday, saying in a post on X that the US response on Tehran's rights and demands was not satisfactory. He didn't stop there: Washington must answer all seven of Iran's conditions fully and explicitly, and comply with them, he wrote. Only then, he said, will the Strait of Hormuz reopen.

His blunt message landed right in the middle of a flurry of reports suggesting the two sides were inching toward a last-minute peace deal. Saudi outlet Al Arabiya, citing an unnamed senior source, reported that the US told Qatari mediators it had agreed to the latest peace proposal and was waiting on Iran's answer. The same source said Tehran received the offer Monday, though there was no official confirmation, according to Breaking The News.

A separate report from London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, citing people familiar with the matter, claimed both sides had agreed to concessions pitched by Qatar, with Iran tweaking its nuclear doctrine in exchange for the release of some frozen assets. That arrangement would be preliminary and set the stage for negotiations to resume, the outlet reported.

Iranian officials have stayed openly skeptical of Washington's proposals, and US President Donald Trump gave them little reason to relax. In a phone interview with Fox News, Trump confirmed American forces struck Iran, hitting an air defense facility on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. He said the site took about two months to build and that US forces watched it go up before striking overnight, calling the operation successful and saying the target was hit very nicely.

The strikes drew attention to the region's oil lifeline, but US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox Business the overnight attacks did not disrupt supply. He said more refined products would flow from the Persian Gulf, and even more from India. Multiple explosions were reported Monday on Qeshm Island, and media reporters claimed the US military hit the island in response to an Iranian missile attack on a US aircraft.