Three conditions

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X yesterday Tehran's conditions for ending the war: recognition of Iran's legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression. "The only way to end this war — ignited by the Zionist regime & US — is recognizing Iran's legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm int'l guarantees against future aggression," he wrote. He said he had reaffirmed this position in conversations with the leaders of Russia and Pakistan.

The three conditions are deliberately maximalist. "Legitimate rights" is code for the nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, regional influence through allied networks, and recognition of Iran as a sovereign power. Reparations means compensation for over 1,300 civilians killed, destroyed infrastructure, bombed nuclear sites and flattened military bases. International guarantees would require multilateral mechanisms, likely involving Russia and China at the Security Council, to carry any weight.

Trump, for his part, said this week the military campaign is "practically completed" and that Iran has little left. On Truth Social he had posted there can be no deal "except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER". The two positions are not negotiable with each other. Pezeshkian asks for what no victor grants, and Trump demands what no defeated power accepts while it can still fire missiles. Iran's armed forces spokesman warned that if the country's islands are attacked, "the Persian Gulf will run with the blood of invaders". Pezeshkian's three conditions are not a peace offer. They are a declaration that Iran intends to fight until reality forces it to accept something different.