Iran demands US concessions before reopening Strait of Hormuz
Iran's foreign minister said there are no direct talks with Washington as Tehran lists conditions it says the United States must meet before the Strait of Hormuz can be reopened.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters on Sunday that no direct negotiations are underway between Tehran and Washington after Iran presented a series of demands for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He said intermediaries continue to work on ways to resume talks, but cautioned that technical and legal changes to maritime routes do not equate to the strait being reopened.
The demands, outlined by Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, include the withdrawal of the U.S. naval blockade, payment of war damages, unfreezing of Iranian assets, lifting of sanctions and a permanent end to hostilities against Iran and its regional allies. The United States has not issued a public response.
Analysts note that the conditions remain broadly within the framework of the June memorandum of understanding between the two sides. Mehran Haghirian, director of research at the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, said the council appears to want assurances or a process before any movement on Hormuz.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that officials are working on a traffic scheme to allow safe passage, which would involve de-mining and guarantees that Tehran will not fire on transiting vessels.
Oman, which is negotiating a separate traffic-management agreement with Iran, condemned recent attacks on vessels attempting to cross the strait and said its talks are proceeding in a “positive and constructive atmosphere.” The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait also condemned an Iranian missile strike on an Abu Dhabi National Oil Company tanker.
Separately, Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen launched attacks on Saudi targets, including a port in Mocha and an Aramco refinery in Jizan. Saudi officials said the refinery fire was extinguished with no injuries.
"The intermediaries are still making efforts to find ways to resume negotiations," Araghchi said. "What we’re really working through now is how you can actually set up a traffic scheme so that the ships that pass can pass through safely," Vance told Fox News.
The ongoing impasse has left the Strait of Hormuz largely impassable for months, stranding thousands of sailors and disrupting global oil flows.