Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Will Remain Closed Until Its Demands Are Met

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened until Tehran’s demands, including compensation for war-related damages, are met.

On Sunday (August 9), the IRGC said its strategy of controlling and restricting access to the waterway would continue until the United States accepts all of Iran’s conditions.

The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global energy supplies and international trade, has been effectively blocked by Iran following US and Israeli attacks in late February. Tehran has also threatened to impose tolls on ships using the waterway and take action against vessels attempting to bypass its designated routes.

Before the conflict, commercial shipping moved freely through the strait. However, a ceasefire reached in April collapsed amid continued attacks and rising tensions in the region. Mediators have urged both sides to return to the terms of the June truce and resume peace negotiations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks with Oman over the navigation and management of the Strait of Hormuz were in their final stages. However, he made clear that reopening the waterway would depend on Tehran’s other demands, including compensation for alleged violations of the June agreement.

Araghchi also said Iran was not engaged in direct negotiations with the United States. According to him, the two sides were communicating only through messages exchanged via intermediaries.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghader outlined several conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

Among Tehran’s demands are an end to what it described as “war and aggression” against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq, as well as the lifting of US counter-blockades on Iranian ports.

Iran has also called for the removal of US sanctions, the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and compensation for damages caused by the conflict.