US naval blockade on Iran is an 'illegal act of war', analyst says

[0:00] Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has seized two cargo ships, the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondes in the Strait of Hormuz. [0:07] Iran accuses the vessels of operating without authorization and manipulating navigation systems. [0:14] The U.S.-Iran ceasefire has been extended to give the two sides more time to try and reach a peace deal. [0:19] Washington says its naval blockade will continue, but Tehran warns talks won't happen until the blockade ends. [0:25] Well, Fouad Izadi is an associate professor at University of Tehran, and he joins us now live from Tehran. [0:33] Professor Izadi, thanks for being with us here on Al Jazeera. [0:36] It was U.S. President Trump who announced the extension of the ceasefire, but that's on American terms. [0:43] And with the naval blockade of Iranian ports still in effect, what do you expect we'll be hearing from Iranian government officials as a response? [0:51] You know, I think they may accept that offer of ceasefire. [1:01] The only problem we have is that blockading countries is considered an act of war under international law. [1:11] And also, when you are negotiating under international law, you are supposed to negotiate in good faith. [1:19] When countries engage in acts of war during negotiations, that's a good sign. [1:26] So overall, I think there is a lot of doubts about whether the United States is really interested in negotiations [1:35] or they're just getting prepared for the next round of attacks on Iran. [1:40] And this is the general feeling a lot of people in Iran have, whether they are serious or they are just buying time [1:50] and getting prepared for the next time they want to attack Iran. [1:55] Professor Izadi, Iranian government officials have insisted that there will be no continuation of talks in Islamabad [2:02] until the U.S. lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. [2:05] You were talking about how much distrust there is of the U.S. from the vantage point of Iranian officials. [2:10] I want to ask you if you believe that there might be any other concessions that could be made [2:15] or any gestures made by the U.S. that would compel Iran to participate in another round of talks. [2:20] Or is this blockade the red line? [2:26] I think they need to do something about the blockade. [2:29] And yes, there are other things that can be done. [2:31] For example, over $20 billion of Iranian assets have been blockaded by the United States. [2:40] They're sitting in different banks. [2:43] These are illegal sanctions. [2:45] These are unilateral sanctions passed by the U.S. Congress. [2:48] These are not related to the U.N. or any other international body. [2:53] So releasing Iranian money would be a good gesture. [2:59] Maybe Trump is not using profanity when he talks about Iran because you're supposed to lower rhetoric [3:06] if you're serious about negotiations. [3:09] The other side can do things that can send Iran signals that they are actually ready for peace. [3:17] Professor Izadi, President Trump, he's pivoted to a zero enrichment demand in this new proposal. [3:24] We know that enrichment, that's been a sticking point up until now. [3:27] You're somebody who closely follows U.S. foreign policy. [3:29] I want to ask you if there's any scenario that exists in which Iran might agree to remove enriched uranium from Iranian soil. [3:40] You know, this was Iran's proposal in New York when the Iranian delegation went there in September last year for the U.N. General Assembly. [3:51] Iran's president was there. [3:53] The foreign minister was there. [3:54] And that offer was given to avoid war. [3:59] And this was one of the offers that Iran had in February to avoid war. [4:06] But now that we have experienced war, more than 3,200 civilians killed, extensive civilian infrastructure, [4:17] there are a lot of people in Iran that think that U.S. may be thinking about using tactical nuclear weapons against Iran. [4:27] Some of the factories that are producing these missiles are underground. [4:32] And the only way you can really destroy them, you cannot do it with conventional weapons. [4:37] And one worry Trump has is that if he uses nuclear weapons against Iran, then that would give Iran permission to build nuclear weapons of its own. [4:48] Everybody would understand why Iran would be doing that when Iran is attacked by nuclear weapons. [4:55] So he wants to make sure that Iran doesn't have those enriched uraniums. [5:01] So he doesn't have to worry about that. [5:03] And Iranians realize that. [5:05] So they are going to be very cautious. [5:08] They may not repeat the same offer they had previously because of the war and because of this analysis that is widespread, [5:17] that conceding enriched uranium to the United States means being attacked by the United States using nuclear weapons. [5:28] Well, Fawad Azadeh is an associate professor at the University of Tehran, [5:31] and he was joining us there live from Tehran. [5:33] Professor Azadeh, thank you so much for being with us here on Al Jazeera.