Iran sets new conditions for Hormuz reopening

The Pentagon is pressing the US defence industry to accelerate production of weapons to help replenish its diminished stockpile of munitions, including those depleted in the ongoing war with Iran.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement Saturday that the department was actively focused on boosting munitions acquisitions to provide “the weapons our warfighters need at the pace the threat demands.” He confirmed department efforts in the last week to significantly speed the process but insisted it was part of a broader modernization effort that predated the five-month-old conflict.

Turkey's foreign minister said Saturday he expected Egypt to join a joint defence agreement with regional partners designed to stabilise the region that is grappling with the Middle East war.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the agreement on Friday against the backdrop of war between the United States and Iran, which has drawn in surrounding nations and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

The war has emboldened Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen, both of which have attacked Saudi Arabia, and a drone last month hit US assets at an Egyptian port on the Mediterranean.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told state news agency Anadolu he expected Egypt to join the "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement", calling the country a "natural partner on all issues".

Iran's Supreme National Security Council said the Strait of Hormuz will not open until the United States "corrects its behavior," issuing new demands that could shake up talks on a deal to manage the waterway.

Iran's state broadcaster published the statement by the council's secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guard.

The United States must never threaten Iran again, the statement said, and must permanently end the war with Iran and its armed allies in the region. The US must lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw its military from the area. It must "completely compensate" Iran for war damage, lift sanctions and "unconditionally" release frozen assets.

The US, which has wanted an acceptable deal first on the strait before ending the blockade, had no immediate comment.

Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi strongly condemned the dangerous Iranian attack targeting an ADNOC tanker from the United Arab Emirates while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

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