Iran Lays Down 5 Conditions for Resuming Talks With the US

Iran has drawn a hard line for restarting stalled negotiations with the United States, demanding five preconditions be met before any dialogue can resume, a move that heightens geopolitical tensions and adds further uncertainty to global energy markets.

The report, citing an informed source, was published by Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency. "These conditions are formulated within the framework of creating minimum trust to return to the dialogue process," the source told Fars News.

The preconditions include a complete cessation of hostilities across all fronts, specifically mentioning Lebanon; the lifting of all sanctions against Iran; the release of frozen Iranian assets held abroad; compensation for war damages; and U.S. recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. The demands follow President Donald Trump's recent dismissal of a separate Iranian proposal as "garbage."

This hardline stance effectively stalls diplomatic progress and puts the focus on the upcoming Beijing summit, where President Trump is expected to press Chinese President Xi Jinping to influence Tehran. With the CIA assessing Iran can withstand the current U.S. naval blockade for another three to four months, Tehran is negotiating from a position of perceived resilience, increasing the risk of prolonged instability in a region responsible for over 20% of global oil transit.

A Deepening Distrust

Tehran's list of demands is rooted in a profound distrust of Washington's intentions, which it says has been reinforced by U.S. actions on the ground. Iranian officials have pointed to the American naval blockade, imposed after a ceasefire was supposed to take hold, as evidence that the U.S. is not a reliable negotiating partner. "The US naval blockade after the ceasefire has strengthened the Iranian side's view that negotiations with the US are not reliable," an Iranian source communicated to Pakistani mediators.

This skepticism shapes the five conditions, which collectively amount to a demand for a full reversal of the U.S. pressure campaign before talks can even begin. The call to end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, is particularly complex. It comes as Iranian-backed Hezbollah has demonstrated new, low-cost capabilities, such as a fiber-optic drone used to kill an Israeli soldier, a weapon that Israeli defenses currently have no answer for.

Beijing Summit in Focus

The diplomatic impasse shifts the focus to President Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing on May 14-15. The U.S. administration hopes to persuade President Xi to use China's leverage as a strategic partner and major oil customer of Iran to push Tehran toward a compromise. However, Washington's strategy is complicated by its own actions. Hours before the president's departure for Beijing, the U.S. sanctioned a Chinese satellite company for providing imagery used in Iranian strikes on American facilities.

Beijing has responded with defiance, invoking a 2021 law for the first time at scale, instructing its companies—including five oil refiners—to ignore the U.S. sanctions. This places the two leaders in a delicate position for their summit. As the UK's Financial Times noted, Trump's "war has only strengthened China’s position on the board." Xi is expected to press Trump to accommodate Iran's basic demands, including lifting the port blockade and unfreezing assets, creating a diplomatic circle that leads right back to Tehran's initial list of preconditions.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.