Iran outlines demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz
There are no ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday, after Tehran set out a steep series of demands for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, reports BritPanorama.
“The intermediaries are still making efforts to find ways to resume negotiations,” Araghchi said.
He tempered optimism stirred by Iran’s separate discussions with Oman over the future management of the waterway, saying that “changes to maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz are a technical and legal matter and do not mean that the Strait of Hormuz has been reopened.”
Araghchi’s statement came a day after top Iranian security official Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr laid out the country’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, stating it would not occur “until America corrects its behavior.”
The Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary’s statement, as reported by Iranian state media, stipulated that the U.S. must withdraw its naval blockade, compensate Iran for war damages, unfreeze Iranian assets, lift sanctions, and end its conflict against Iran and its regional allies.
The U.S. has not publicly responded to this list of conditions. Top officials have ruled out making any immediate payments to Iran during past efforts to secure a deal to end the conflict.
The country’s enriched uranium stockpile remains a significant concern for Washington, insisting that Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions. Ongoing stalled negotiations have rendered the Strait of Hormuz largely inoperational for months, except for brief periods of limited access. Thousands of sailors are stranded in the region, unable to either return home or support global oil supply.
“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,” Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Saturday. He indicated that this scheme would involve demining efforts and assurances from Tehran that it would not engage in hostile actions against transiting vessels.
Oman condemned attacks on ships attempting to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, warning in a statement that such actions could hinder ongoing negotiations with Iran regarding the waterway’s management. The UAE and Kuwait also condemned an Iranian missile attack on an Abu Dhabi National Oil Company tanker.
Despite this, Oman stated that its discussions with Iran were “proceeding in a positive and constructive atmosphere.”
Iran and Oman, having close geographical ties across the Strait of Hormuz, have been negotiating an agreement on traffic management through the waterway, including potential toll fees. The talks have been viewed with optimism, raising hopes for a reopening. However, Iranian officials have dismissed any link between these discussions and the actual reopening of the Strait.
Iran’s discussions with Oman “does not mean the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Araghchi clarified on Saturday.
Reports from Iranian state media indicate that President Masoud Pezeshkian has met with the country’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, discussing “the war and the future ahead.” However, no evidence is provided regarding the occurrence of this meeting.
Pezeshkian noted earlier this week that it has been “very difficult” to contact Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since sustaining injuries during U.S. strikes that killed his predecessor.
Meanwhile, Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen once again targeted Saudi Arabia on Sunday, attacking the Mocha port along the Red Sea.
The Houthis have intensified their attacks on Saudi Arabia, recently targeting a Saudi Aramco oil refinery in the port city of Jizan with a drone, claiming it was retaliation for Saudi incursions into Yemeni airspace.
The Saudi energy ministry reported that a fire at the refinery had been extinguished without causing injuries.
In response to the ongoing conflict, Aramco is seeking to redirect some oil exports to the Red Sea, aiming to circumvent the shuttered Strait of Hormuz. On Saturday, Riyadh condemned the Houthi attacks, alleging they had targeted the kingdom since mid-July, also affecting shipping vessels.
