Will Trump meet Iran’s latest price to reopen Strait of Hormuz?
Tehran sets sweeping new demands as hopes of an imminent breakthrough fade
Dubai: Iran has laid out sweeping demands that the United States must meet before the Strait of Hormuz can fully reopen, complicating hopes that an emerging Iran-Oman agreement could quickly restore normal shipping through the critical waterway.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday that Washington must lift its naval blockade and sanctions, withdraw US forces from around Iran, pay war reparations and release frozen Iranian assets.
He also demanded an end to attacks on Iran’s regional allies and threats against the country, media reports said.
The conditions raise the stakes over the strait, through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil normally flows, and make clear that Tehran does not regard an agreement with Oman over shipping routes as sufficient to reopen it.
The White House did not immediately respond to the demands.
Oman deal no longer enough
Iran and Oman have been negotiating the future management of Hormuz after Tehran effectively closed the strait in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks in February.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran and Muscat were “very close” to an agreement, with their militaries discussing details of a temporary shipping route.
But Araghchi said reopening Hormuz depended on other conditions, including Washington compensating Iran for what Tehran calls US violations of the Islamabad Memorandum, the ceasefire agreement signed in June.
Iran's price for reopening Hormuz
End naval blockade: Lift the US blockade of Iranian ports
Lift sanctions: Remove US economic restrictions on Iran
War reparations: Compensate Iran for damage from the conflict
Frozen assets: Release Iranian funds held abroad
US military: Withdraw American forces from around Iran
Regional allies: End attacks on Iran’s allies
Threats: Stop US threats against Iran
Islamabad deal: Honour commitments Tehran says Washington made under the June memorandum
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi went further, saying reopening the strait was “not contingent on the Iran-Oman negotiations” but depended on “the United States fully accepting Iran’s conditions”.
The distinction is crucial: Iran and Oman may agree on how ships should move through Hormuz, but that does not mean normal traffic will resume.
Trump faces difficult choice
Iran’s demands could force US President Donald Trump to decide whether to make concessions or tolerate continued disruption to a waterway central to global energy supplies.
Washington has opposed any arrangement that would formalise Iranian control of Hormuz or allow Tehran to charge vessels for passage. Iran, however, insists the strait will not simply return to its pre-war status.
David Schenker, a former State Department official in Trump’s first administration, told AP that economic pressure could eventually push Trump towards compromise.
“This is a concession he may very well be willing to make,” Schenker said.
Trump himself acknowledged this week that Iran retains the ability to disrupt shipping.
“They can always shoot something ... or drop a mine,” he said.
Traffic remains far below normal
Just over a dozen ships a day have navigated the strait over the past week, according to Kpler, compared with around 130 daily before the war.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence recorded 84 transits last week, up from 45 the previous week but far below the more than 700 crossings in a typical pre-crisis week.
Tensions rose further after the UAE said an Iranian missile targeted an ADNOC tanker crossing Hormuz.
The UAE condemned the attack as a “blatant violation” of UN Security Council Resolution 2817 and accused the IRGC of using the strait for “economic pressure or blackmail”. No injuries were reported.
Oman also condemned repeated attacks on shipping while saying negotiations with Tehran were proceeding in a “positive and constructive atmosphere”.
Blockade squeezes Iran
Iran, meanwhile, is facing growing economic pressure from the renewed US naval blockade.
No tankers have loaded crude at Kharg Island, which handles about 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports, since July 31, according to shipping and satellite data cited by the Financial Times.
The prolonged disruption could force Tehran to reduce oil production as storage facilities fill.
US Vice President JD Vance also tempered expectations of an imminent breakthrough, saying negotiations were only in the “middle of the game”.
He said talks were focused on creating a system allowing ships to pass safely, including demining and securing an Iranian commitment not to attack commercial vessels.
The emerging picture is clear: Iran and Oman may be close to agreeing on a shipping route, but reopening Hormuz now hinges on a much bigger bargain between Washington and Tehran.
