Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Will Stay Closed Until US Meets Conditions

Iran has warned that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to shipping until the United States changes its approach to the conflict and agrees to Tehran's conditions for ending the war.

Mohsen Rezaei, the newly appointed secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, delivered the strongest indication yet that any agreement involving Oman to facilitate passage through the strategically vital waterway would not automatically result in its reopening.

Rezaei, a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said Iran's demands had been communicated to Washington through intermediaries.

"As long as America does not change its behaviour and does not accept Iran's conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened," Rezaei was quoted as saying by Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency.

He said the United States must end the war, compensate Iran for its frozen assets and support an end to fighting across the region, including in Lebanon and Gaza.

Rezaei also sought to separate any potential agreement with Oman concerning transit through the strait from the broader issue of reopening the waterway.

"If an agreement is reached between Iran and Oman regarding the transit route through the Strait of Hormuz, this agreement will be a matter separate from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

Trump demands compensation

The latest Iranian warning came after US President Donald Trump introduced another demand, calling for Iran to pay compensation for people killed in wars, attacks and protests.

Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump said Washington would seek compensation for damage he attributed to Iran over several decades.

"We're going to ask for money for the damage they've done over a 50-year period," Trump said.

In a separate interview, Trump outlined two possible approaches to the conflict - allowing Iran's economy to deteriorate or taking much more forceful military action.

"I'm sort of negotiating," Trump said, while describing Iran as having "very devious negotiators".

Trump has repeatedly shifted between warnings of further escalation and suggestions that a peace agreement could be close.

Iranian officials, however, have indicated that reopening the Strait of Hormuz will depend on Washington meeting Tehran's conditions.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, also reinforced the position on Tuesday, saying the strait would remain closed until Iran's demands were satisfied.

The uncertainty has pushed oil prices higher as markets assess the potential impact of a prolonged disruption to one of the world's most important energy corridors.

Hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough

The latest escalation follows renewed hopes that negotiations could produce a breakthrough.

Pakistan and Qatar have been among the key intermediaries attempting to bridge the differences between Washington and Tehran.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif recently suggested that the two sides could be approaching an agreement that might ultimately lead to the reopening of the strategic waterway.

"The signals in the last two, three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement," Asif said in an interview with Bloomberg News.

The Strait of Hormuz is critical to global energy markets, with roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies having passed through the waterway before the conflict.

Thousands of people have been killed since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, with Iran, Lebanon and other parts of the region heavily affected.

Iran has retaliated with attacks on US assets and infrastructure in several countries, including Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Growing threat to shipping

The dispute has also heightened concerns over maritime security, with reports of fresh attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea.

Four crew members were reportedly killed on Tuesday in a suspected attack by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement on a small cargo vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Yemen's Transport Ministry.

The deaths aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if confirmed, would represent the first fatalities from a Houthi attack on commercial shipping since the Iran war began. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the incident.

A separate container ship was reportedly struck by a missile while sailing off Pakistan in the Gulf of Oman, with sources describing the incident as a suspected US attack.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a US official said the vessel had been hit by a US military helicopter after its crew allegedly ignored warnings from personnel enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Washington first announced its blockade of vessels attempting to reach Iranian ports in April and reinstated it in July after a June peace agreement collapsed.

The Houthis subsequently announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20, saying it was in response to what they described as a Saudi blockade of Yemen. Saudi Arabia has rejected that claim.

With tensions continuing to rise, the future of the Strait of Hormuz has become a central issue in efforts to end the conflict, with any prolonged closure likely to have significant consequences for global energy supplies, shipping and oil prices.