Iran: Strait of Hormuz to remain closed until U.S. meets all conditions
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards stated they will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the U.S. meets all of Tehran's conditions.
- These conditions include compensation for war damages and an end to the U.S. counterblockade of Iranian ports.
- Iran has effectively blockaded the strait since late February, leading to collapsed ceasefire talks.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards declared on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States fulfills all of Tehran's demands. These conditions, laid out the previous day, include compensation for war damages and an end to the U.S. counterblockade of Iranian ports.
we would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States met all of Tehran's conditions set out the day before, including compensation for war damages.
Iran has imposed an effective blockade on the vital waterway since late February, following attacks by the United States and Israel. Tehran seeks to impose tolls for passage and targets ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred routes. The continued attacks in the strait, which was previously free to transit, led to the collapse of an April ceasefire agreement.
is subject to other conditions and compensation for the violation of the June agreement.
Mediators have been urging both sides to return to the terms of a subsequent June memorandum, which outlined a path for peace talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated that discussions with Oman regarding transit and management of the strait were nearing completion. However, he stressed that reopening Hormuz is contingent on "other conditions and compensation for the violation" of the June agreement.
exchanging messages
Araghchi denied that Iran was directly negotiating with the U.S., stating that only messages were being exchanged via intermediaries. Earlier, Iran's security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr had detailed a list of demands for reopening the strait. These included an end to the "war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq," the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen assets, and compensation for wartime damage. The Revolutionary Guards emphasized their strategy, stating the strait is now a "theatre of war" for them until the enemy accepts all conditions.
end to the 'war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq.'
Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.