Iran crisis update: Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the United States “corrects its behavior,” a new public condition that complicates the separate Iran-Oman track that had appeared close to producing a shipping arrangement.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued the new demands through Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the council secretary and a Revolutionary Guard commander. The statement said the United States must stop threatening Iran, permanently end the war with Iran and its regional allies, lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdraw U.S. forces from the area, compensate Iran for war damage, lift sanctions and release frozen Iranian assets.
AP said there was no immediate U.S. comment. The demand lands just over a week before the end of a 60-day period to negotiate a final deal under the interim arrangement reached in June.
The Oman talks no longer look like the only hurdle
The new Iranian position matters because officials had been signaling progress on a Hormuz arrangement with Oman. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier Saturday that Tehran and Muscat were close to an agreement on navigation, specifically the determination of a transit route, according to AP.
But Iran is now separating a technical navigation deal from the political decision to reopen the waterway. The Hindu’s live coverage, citing Reuters and Iran’s Tasnim news agency, reported that Revolutionary Guard spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said reopening the Strait of Hormuz is “not related to the negotiations between Iran and Oman” and is instead subject to Iran’s own mechanisms and conditions.
That is a sharper message than the earlier deal-close framing. It suggests a route agreement with Oman may not be enough to restore full commercial traffic unless Washington also accepts Tehran’s broader terms.
A tanker attack added pressure the same day
The diplomatic hardening came as the United Arab Emirates said an ADNOC-linked vessel was attacked while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters, in reporting carried by Internazionale, said the UAE condemned what it called an Iranian missile attack on the carrier and accused Tehran of “acts of piracy.” No injuries were reported.
Reuters reported that ADNOC said 15 of its vessels have been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the strait since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, including three this week. The company said one crew member has been killed and 20 others wounded in those incidents.
The UAE Foreign Ministry called on Iran to stop attacks on commercial shipping and reopen the strait fully and unconditionally. That position directly conflicts with Tehran’s latest demand that reopening depends on U.S. behavior and wider concessions.
Why it matters
Before the conflict, roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The longer the route stays constrained, the more pressure builds on Gulf exporters, insurers, shippers and energy markets.
The immediate issue is no longer just whether Iran and Oman can agree on a transit route. It is whether the United States and Iran can bridge a much larger political gap: Washington wants commercial shipping restored without impediments, while Tehran is now tying reopening to sanctions, U.S. forces, compensation and the blockade of Iranian ports.
For now, the Hormuz track has moved from “deal close” to “deal under new conditions.” That is the real shift.