Iran war live: Tehran demands end to US blockade to reopen Strait of Hormuz

Abas Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, says Iran is insisting on compensation from the US in a bid to deter further attacks.He described the demand as an “invoice” for US aggression, and said Tehran is aiming for a familiar cycle of events “not to be repeated – today negotiating, tomorrow breaking it, then attacking, threatening, then back to square one”.Iran “thinks that by trying to include some costs, this could make the Americans think twice if they intend to do similar scenarios in the future”, he told Al Jazeera.Aslani also said that differences of opinion on whether and how much to engage with Washington diplomatically still exist in Iran, but are being narrowed by the US military’s actions.“What the United States … have been doing also have been pushing those different factions together,” he said. “This is something which even those reformists and those supporting the negotiations cannot defend … And this makes different fronts to be united,” he added.“When you look at the Iranian position, you would see mostly continuity and a consistency. You’re not seeing that much of a difference from what Iran was saying a few months ago, a few weeks ago and today. This indicates that this is not [because] of decision-making in Iran but what the US is doing; it is undermining those who are supporting diplomatic engagement with the US.”