Iran demands US withdrawal, sanctions relief and compensation before reopening Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr said on August 8 that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US ends the war, lifts sanctions, unfreezes assets and pays full compensation, despite Oman reporting 'positive' talks on the waterway's future management.
Iran's demands
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, laid out sweeping conditions on Saturday August 8 for any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Cited by Iranian media and reported by CNN and Al Jazeera, he said the US must end the war and aggression against Iran and its allies, lift the blockade on Iranian ports, withdraw American troops from the region, lift sanctions, unfreeze Iranian assets, and provide "full compensation" for damage caused by the war triggered on February 28 by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran.
As long as the United States does not change its behavior, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed.
Oman-mediated talks
Oman, also a riparian state of the Strait, reported on August 8 that discussions with Iran on the future management of the waterway were taking place in a "positive and constructive" atmosphere. Tehran had said in recent days it agreed with the sultanate on a transit route for ships, but Oman had not spoken publicly until Saturday. Iran refuses to return to the pre-war situation and intends to impose service fees, something the US firmly opposes. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi cautioned that the negotiations with Oman do not mean the Strait will reopen.
- War triggered by US-Israeli offensive against Iran
- Iran-US protocol agreement establishes ceasefire and reopens Strait of Hormuz to traffic
- Ceasefire collapses; US strikes and Iranian responses resume
- Last US bombings on Iran carried out
- Houthis attack Saudi-backed government camp in central Yemen, killing 8 soldiers
- Iran sets conditions for Strait reopening; UAE Adnoc tanker hit by missile
Ceasefire that collapsed
Some of the conditions listed by Zolghadr were part of a June Iran-US protocol agreement that established a ceasefire, allowed traffic to resume through the Strait, and was meant to open the way to broader negotiations. That truce shattered in early July, leading to resumed US strikes and Iranian responses against Washington's allies in the Middle East. The US military has not carried out new bombings on Iran since late July. At the beginning of August, President Donald Trump cancelled a new attack at the last moment and said negotiations with Iran would resume, a claim Tehran swiftly denied.
Attacks on shipping
Iran's Revolutionary Guards say the Oman negotiations have nothing to do with reopening the Strait. The Iranian military continues to regularly attack ships attempting to bypass the route it has imposed. On Saturday, a UAE oil tanker belonging to the national company Adnoc was targeted by a missile in the Strait, with no casualties. The UAE foreign ministry condemned what it called a "hostile attack by Iran on a tanker belonging to Adnoc using a missile while it was crossing the Strait of Hormuz." Oman's foreign ministry, without naming Iran, condemned "repeated attacks" and called for abstention from any action likely to compromise the diplomatic process.
Regional escalation
Pro-Iranian Yemeni Houthis claimed responsibility on Friday August 7 for an attack on a camp of Saudi-backed government forces in central Yemen, killing 8 soldiers according to a revised toll communicated by a military source. Al Jazeera reported that further attacks were carried out on Saturday. The Strait of Hormuz, crucial for global hydrocarbon trade, remains locked down by Iran, which regularly targets vessels entering without its authorization.
