NewsNation spoke exclusively with Mohsen Rezaei, a senior military adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei.
“The first issue is that the American government must accept that the Iranian people have rights — rights recognized under international law, within which Iran operates. Iran’s international relations are conducted within the framework of international law. America must accept these rights,” Rezaei said. “For example, on the nuclear issue — we are operating within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. There should be no interference.”
Rezaei also said Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon.
“When official American and other countries’ intelligence agencies say Iran has not been pursuing an atomic bomb, you ask us whether we are — and it’s clear we were not. We have always, always declared this. We have always said we were not pursuing an atomic bomb,” he said.
Rezaei said Iran doesn’t view the Strait of Hormuz as a simple piece of leverage on the board. They view it as a vital national interest, not just through the economic lens, but also through a national security lens as well.
“No country — no country — is willing to let America interfere. And we, who are the owners of the strait — should we allow Americans to interfere? We have shown for 47 years that the Strait of Hormuz is open,” he said. “But after the prolonged wars waged against us, we can no longer simply carry on as before.”
“Regarding fees, there is a cost dimension to this matter. There is a tolls discussion, a fees discussion. Our current discussion is about service costs in the Strait of Hormuz,” Rezaei said.
“Yes, we want to maintain the security of the Strait of Hormuz. We want to protect the environment of the Strait of Hormuz. We must establish insurance mechanisms so that if incidents occur, ships that encounter problems are covered to reduce their risk. And when we provide all of this, these costs cannot come out of the pockets of the Iranian people. These costs must be collected from those who are transporting oil through this strait.”
Rezaei also criticized the behaviors of U.S. negotiators, accusing Special Envoy Steve Witkoff of threatening Iran.
“We have still not seen any serious change in the behavior of Mr. Trump and his team. We feel they are simply buying time from us. They want to manage America’s domestic issues — for example, to get inflation and the banking crisis under control, hold the elections, and then the games will be over,” he said. “We have yet to see a serious move, a turning point in American behavior. Therefore, we have very little hope that this agreement will actually happen.”
MNA
