ISLAMABAD, 10 November 2026 – Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, rejected US President Donald Trump’s assertions that Tehran was negotiating with Washington, and demanded that the United States accept Iran’s seven conditions for ending the conflict.
In a social media post on Monday, 9 November, Rezaei wrote that the war on Iran had already damaged the US government and that Washington was flailing like a desperate gambler. He added: “Time to SURRENDER to the seven conditions Iran has repeatedly set out.” He also told Washington to stop manufacturing fake news about imaginary negotiations.
Response to Trump’s remarks
Rezaei’s statement followed comments by Trump the same day. Trump told reporters on Monday that he believes the war in Iran “militarily is effectively over,” suggesting that he is not, for now, prepared to resume the bombardment. He also acknowledged that the “status quo” would continue the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, together with a newly announced Task Force Iron Gate, which aims to cut off trade by land and through the Caspian Sea.
The remarks came after Trump met Qatar’s prime minister in Washington, who reportedly presented a two-day proposal from Iran to end the war. The White House declined to comment on the talks, though Trump had alluded to indirect contacts with Tehran the previous week. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately said Iran’s demands, stated in the two-day plan, were still on the table.
The seven conditions
Tehran has not published a definitive numbered list of the seven conditions. Iranian demands reported by the Associated Press include ending the US blockade of Iran’s ports, lifting sanctions, unfreezing assets, paying compensation for war damage, and ending hostilities across the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon. Israel National News reported that the conditions also rule out future negotiations on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. That last point was not confirmed in the other sources reviewed.
Rezaei has previously said the Americans responded to the seven conditions, but that their response was insufficient and contained ambiguities that must be resolved. That sits uneasily with his latest denial that any talks are taking place.
Background
The war began on 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. Pakistan mediated a two-week ceasefire on 8 April. Washington imposed a naval blockade on Iran on 13 April after the Islamabad Talks failed, lifted it in June after an announced agreement, and reinstated it on 14 July.
The US military has carried out limited strikes on Iran at least twice over the past week, and on Saturday it fired on and disabled a commercial ship it said was trying to breach the blockade.
No agreement has been announced, and the two sides’ accounts of whether talks are under way remain contradictory.
