The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said that the US response to Iran’s seven conditions was not convincing and that the Strait of Hormuz will only reopen if Washington fully meets the demands.

The indirect talks center on an Iranian proposal to reopen the waterway over two days if the United States meets the seven demands, including the lifting of sanctions and an end to the US naval blockade. Four oil tankers were destroyed after striking naval mines south of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who also said two other vessels were halted. The statement did not identify the vessels, their owners, flags, cargoes or the exact location, and there was no immediate independent confirmation of the attacks. The Guards also said they shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the strait, the 56th by their count, a claim that could not be independently verified. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that two unidentified projectiles struck a tanker’s engine room about 14 nautical miles northeast of Oman’s coastal village of Limah, with no casualties reported. US media, citing US officials, reported that Central Command had prepared plans for strikes that could begin as early as Wednesday, after the midterm elections, when three American aircraft carriers would be in the region.