DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iran said Monday it will not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the United States meets a series of demands, including compensation for war damage, an end to sanctions and military threats, the lifting of a naval blockade, and the release of frozen Iranian assets, adding another obstacle to efforts to restore commercial shipping through one of the world’s most important energy routes.
The announcement came as Iranian and Omani officials reported progress toward a separate agreement governing navigation through the strait. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said talks with Oman were proceeding “smoothly and constructively,” with the two sides having agreed on a shipping route map. Technical issues concerning a joint statement remained unresolved, Reuters reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Sunday that the agreement with Oman was in its final stages but stressed that it would not, by itself, result in the reopening of the waterway. Tehran’s position is that Washington must first address conditions linked to the broader conflict between Iran and the United States.
Iran and the United States are not currently holding direct negotiations, Araqchi said. Messages are instead being exchanged through intermediaries. He added that Tehran would not resume direct talks while it considers Washington to be violating an interim agreement reached in June.
Among the conditions outlined by Iranian officials are U.S. compensation for damage caused by attacks on Iran, an end to further U.S. threats, a halt to what Tehran describes as aggression against Iran and its regional allies, removal of the U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf, lifting of economic sanctions, and the release of Iranian assets frozen overseas.
Iranian officials have also demanded an end to U.S. military action involving Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq. The demands were outlined by Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, the outgoing secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, according to Reuters.
The United States has indicated that the sequence could work differently. A U.S. official told Reuters on Friday that Washington would lift its blockade of Iranian ports once an agreement was announced restoring commercial shipping through the strait without impediments. The official said U.S. actions would be tied to Iran’s implementation of its commitments.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, told Axios that Washington was “semi-negotiating” with Iran while monitoring the country’s economic difficulties. His administration has maintained that the U.S. military campaign against Iran was aimed at preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons and reducing its ability to threaten the region.
The standoff has kept the Strait of Hormuz at the center of the wider conflict. The waterway, located between Iran and Oman and linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, is a critical global energy chokepoint. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said oil flows through the strait averaged about 20.9 million barrels per day in the first half of 2025, equivalent to roughly one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption. About one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas trade also passed through Hormuz in 2024.
Reuters reported that the strait has been effectively blocked since U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28, disrupting shipping and contributing to higher oil prices and inflation. Brent crude rose to about $84.22 a barrel on Monday as expectations of an agreement to reopen the waterway were tempered by Iran’s insistence on U.S. concessions. The benchmark had reached about $126 a barrel at the end of April amid the disruption.
The Oman-Iran discussions are focused not only on the routes themselves but also on safe navigation, environmental protection, maritime services and measures to combat crime at sea. Tehran said a new shipping arrangement could establish mechanisms for managing commercial traffic through the strait.
The diplomatic impasse is unfolding alongside renewed violence elsewhere in the region. Reuters reported that Iran-linked Houthi forces in Yemen have continued attacks around the Red Sea, while fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognized government has also intensified. The developments add to concerns over disruptions at both the Strait of Hormuz and another major maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
For now, the prospect of an Oman-brokered shipping arrangement offers a possible pathway toward restoring maritime traffic, but Iran’s insistence that the United States first meet its broader political and economic demands means a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remains uncertain.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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