Iran’s top security body said Saturday the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States meets a list of six demands, including compensation for what it calls two wars of aggression against the country.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a commander in the Revolutionary Guard, said the United States must correct its behavior before the strait can fully reopen to shipping. “Until America corrects its behavior, the Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened,” Zolghadr said, according to Iranian state media.
Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told reporters in Bandar Abbas earlier Saturday that the strait had shifted from a trade route into what he called a tool of power and war.
What We Know So Far
Iran has controlled traffic through the strait using fast attack boats and missiles since the United States and Israel struck the country in February, a disruption that has pushed up global oil prices and increased pressure on President Donald Trump to bring the conflict to an end.
Zolghadr’s statement listed six specific conditions for reopening the waterway:
- The United States must never threaten Iran or insult its national or religious sanctities.
- Washington must permanently end the war against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq.
- The US must lift its naval blockade and withdraw its military forces from around Iran.
- The US must fully compensate Iran for damage caused by what Tehran describes as two wars of aggression.
- Washington must lift sanctions imposed on Iran.
- The US must unconditionally release frozen Iranian assets held abroad.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Iran and Oman were nearing a separate agreement on a temporary shipping arrangement through the strait, though he said the waterway’s full reopening remained contingent on the broader demands. Speaking from Oman, where he is holding bilateral talks, Araghchi said Iran currently has no negotiations underway with the United States and would not resume them unless Washington addresses what he called violations of an interim agreement signed in June.
According to two people familiar with the Iran Oman talks who were not authorized to speak publicly, the emerging deal would let ships enter the strait through a route near Iran and exit through a route near Oman, without paying fees during the interim period. The arrangement is designed to restart a 60 day negotiating window over Iran’s nuclear program, a deadline that Reuters reported is due to expire within about a week. The people said the deal, once finalized, could be jointly announced by Iran, Oman, the United States and the International Maritime Organization, though terms could still change.
Oman, which has served as a mediator between Iran and the United States, said in a statement that talks were continuing in what it called a positive and constructive atmosphere, and it condemned recent attacks on ships in the strait.
What Authorities Are Saying
US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News Saturday that Washington is focused on establishing a safe traffic system for ships passing through the strait, while working to maximize the volume of oil and gas moving through the waterway. The Trump administration had not issued a formal response to Iran’s list of demands as of Saturday.
Yemen’s Defense Ministry said its forces carried out an operation against Iran backed Houthi rebels, with a military spokesperson accusing the group of plundering the country’s resources and dragging Yemen into regional conflicts serving foreign interests. Houthi forces separately claimed an attack on Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery on the Red Sea coast, as the conflict between Riyadh and the group continued to escalate.
Why This Matters
Iran’s list of conditions goes well beyond the terms of the interim agreement reached with the United States in June, which called for sanctions relief to follow a final nuclear deal and envisioned a phased release of frozen assets rather than the immediate, unconditional terms Zolghadr outlined Saturday. That gap suggests Tehran is using control of the strait, one of the world’s most important energy shipping corridors, as leverage to extract concessions well beyond what earlier diplomacy had established.
The emerging Iran Oman arrangement, even if finalized, appears designed as a narrower, temporary fix rather than a full resolution, restoring limited navigation while leaving Iran’s broader demands unresolved. US officials have previously said they would not accept any arrangement giving Iran effective control over access to the strait, a position that could complicate finalizing even the temporary Oman brokered deal despite reported progress.
Ship operators have also raised concerns over Iran’s reported plans to impose fees on vessels passing through the strait, a natural waterway that has historically been open to free passage under international law. Any shift toward Iran monetizing transit through the strait would mark a significant break from established maritime norms and could invite legal or diplomatic pushback from major shipping nations.
The broader regional context, including Yemen’s military operation against Houthi forces and the Houthi claimed strike on a major Saudi refinery, underscores how the standoff over the strait is unfolding alongside multiple other active fronts of conflict tied to Iran’s regional alliances, complicating any narrow resolution focused solely on Hormuz.
What Happens Next
Negotiators are working to finalize the interim Iran Oman shipping arrangement in the coming days, with the 60 day nuclear negotiation window set to expire within about a week, adding urgency to talks. Whether that narrower deal can proceed without addressing Iran’s six broader demands remains unclear, given Tehran’s insistence that the strait will not fully reopen until those conditions are met.
The Trump administration’s response to Iran’s demands, expected in the coming days, is likely to shape whether broader negotiations resume or remain stalled, with Vance’s comments suggesting Washington’s immediate focus remains on establishing safe passage protocols rather than engaging with Iran’s full list of conditions.
Reporting drawn from The Independent, the Associated Press, Reuters and CNN, citing Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, US Vice President JD Vance, Oman’s government and Yemen’s Defense Ministry.
