Trump says US is "low-keying" talks with Iran as Tehran sets conditions for reopening Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump told Axios that the United States is "low-keying" its negotiations with Iran, describing the talks as "semi-negotiating" while monitoring Iran’s high inflation and lack of funds. Tehran has outlined six conditions that must be satisfied before it will endorse a deal with Oman to partially reopen the Strait of Hormuz, among them a permanent end to hostilities and compensation for war damages.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the strait will remain shut until the United States meets all six demands, which also include ending aggression against Iran’s allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq.

The United Arab Emirates condemned a missile strike on one of its oil tankers in the strait, calling the incident an act of piracy and a violation of a UN Security Council resolution on freedom of navigation. No injuries were reported and details of the vessel and damage were not disclosed.

In related regional developments, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Jazan refinery and for missile and drone strikes on the Red Sea port of Mocha, which left seven people dead and 30 injured. Saudi authorities reported that a fire at the refinery was extinguished without casualties.

Iran also announced a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, Mohsen Rezaei, as the new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, replacing Zolghadr, who will serve as a political adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

U.S. defense firms have been urged to accelerate weapons production as the conflict strains missile supplies, according to a memo obtained by a major newspaper. A U.S. official indicated that lifting the blockade on Iranian ports will follow an announced agreement to restore commercial shipping without impediments.