Hard-liners in Iran remain defiant despite peace rumblings

High-profile hard-liners close to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Tuesday remained defiant under U.S. and Israeli pressure despite rumblings of an incoming peace deal from mediators.

Mohsen Rezaei, newly appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Chinese Ambassador to Iran Cong Peiwu that his country would not relinquish control of the Strait of Hormuz unless the U.S. lifted its naval blockade, according to a readout of the meeting.

“If an agreement is reached between Iran and Oman regarding the passage route in the Strait of Hormuz, this agreement will be separate from the issue of closing the Strait of Hormuz,” he said in comments first published by state-affiliated media.

Mr. Rezaei added that the U.S. must also facilitate a full ceasefire across the region, including in Lebanon where the Israeli military continues to occupy significant portions of the country’s south and intermittently strikes at what it says are Hezbollah strongholds.

Mohammad Mokhber, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council and an advisor to Mr. Khamenei, echoed the demands in a social media post. He added that each time the U.S. breaks an agreement with Iran, “it will face harsher conditions and greater resilience than before.”

The comments underscore the developing Iranian line on peace talks with Washington, which have been officially on pause since the breakdown of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding last month.

Hard-liners in the country have expressed extreme skepticism about continuing to negotiate with the U.S. and insist that the economic pressure resulting from closing the Strait of Hormuz will eventually force Washington to sue for peace.

However, security officials have, in recent weeks, retained a relatively reactionary posture toward the U.S. and have not pushed for further unprompted military action against U.S. targets in the region.

Separately, Iran and Oman are reportedly in the final stages of negotiations over future control of the Strait of Hormuz. The budding agreement would create temporary routes for commercial vessels to travel.

It remains unclear what role the U.S. is playing in the Oman-Iran discussions, though administration officials maintain that they are well informed of the details of the talks.