Iran says Strait of Hormuz stays closed until US meets demands

Iran declared on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States meets a sweeping set of conditions, hardening Tehran's negotiating position more than five months into a conflict that has disrupted one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.

"It is up to the U.S. side to stop and make amends for its illegal and destructive actions," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said at a press briefing, referring to the American naval blockade of Iranian ports. He added that "as long as the US naval blockade continues … the necessary conditions for saying that the Strait of Hormuz has become a safe waterway will not exist."euronews+1

Tehran's Demands and the Oman Track

Iran's conditions for reopening the strait include lifting the US naval blockade and economic sanctions, withdrawing American military forces from the region, paying compensation for war damages, and releasing frozen Iranian assets. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, laid out the demands on Saturday, also calling for a permanent end to hostilities against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.apnews+2

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said separately that talks with Oman on defining new shipping lanes through the strait were in their "final stages," but stressed that any such agreement would not result in the waterway reopening. Baghaei echoed this distinction Monday, saying the Oman discussions concern safe shipping routes and are "just a bilateral process" separate from the political conditions Tehran has set for Washington.reuters+2

Trump Signals Patience, Not Force

President Trump, who a week ago was reportedly on the verge of ordering renewed combat operations, struck a markedly different tone in an interview with Axios published Sunday. "We are low-keying it," Trump said. "We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money."axios

Trump likened the standoff to "a chess game," a metaphor Baghaei turned back on Washington Monday, saying Iranians had shown "they are professional chess players." Vice President JD Vance told Fox News ↘ 0.63% on Saturday that the administration was applying "diplomatic, economic, military tools" to reach a resolution.euronews+1

Oil Markets and Strategic Stakes

The impasse sent oil prices higher on Monday. Brent crude futures rose more than 1 percent, while the US naval blockade continued to tighten, with US Central Command reporting it had redirected 55 commercial vessels from Iranian ports as of Sunday, up from 35 a week earlier. Shipping through the strait has dwindled to as few as eight confirmed crossings in a single day, a fraction of the roughly 130 daily transits before the war began in late February.cnbc+1

The strait normally carries about one-fifth of the world's traded oil, and its closure has become what analysts describe as the war's most lasting consequence. The standoff has also fed into US domestic politics ahead of November's midterm elections, with Democrats criticizing the administration's handling of the conflict and energy prices remaining elevated. "Each day that passes without a breakthrough is making traders a little more cautious," Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, told Al Jazeera.aljazeera+2