Iran demands US compensation and withdrawal from Persian Gulf

Tehran — Iran is demanding that the United States provide compensation for damage and withdraw from the Persian Gulf region to end the conflict, according to Mohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran’s Policy Determination Council, on Saturday.

“We will only consider ending the war if, first, we receive compensation from the US for all damages, and second, we obtain 100 per cent security guarantees in the future, which is impossible without US withdrawal from the Persian Gulf region. Therefore, the second condition is US withdrawal from the Persian Gulf,” he said to Iranian television station SNN.

Meanwhile, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Thursday called on Middle Eastern nations to close US military bases in their territories and demanded reparations.

Earlier on 28 February, the United States and Israel launched attacks against targets in Iran, including Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties.

Iran responded to the strikes by attacking Israeli territory and US military facilities in the Middle East.

The US and Israel initially claimed their “preemptive” operations were necessary to counter perceived threats from Iran’s nuclear programme, but later clarified that they sought to see a change of power in Iran.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died on the first day of the US-Israeli military operation, prompting the Islamic Republic of Iran government to declare a 40-day period of mourning.