Iran says Hormuz to stay shut until US accepts its plan

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday, October 20, that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed until Washington accepts Tehran's conditions. He added that indirect talks with the United States are still running through Pakistan and Qatar. "The American side must accept our conditions for the strait to open to ships and vessels," he told Iraq's Al-Iraqiya News, and said that until there is a deal, "the strait will naturally remain closed". On the same day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a peace deal with Iran is extremely difficult. He said economic pressure will continue until Tehran stops targeting commercial shipping.gulfnews.com+1

The seven-day plan

Araghchi said Iran had put forward a seven-day initiative that would reopen the strait on the sixth day, as long as Washington accepts and sticks to Iran's conditions, according to the Iraqi News Agency. He said the US had agreed to those conditions but added demands of its own, which he would not describe. Tehran's main demand is that Washington meet every commitment in the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed earlier. "If they adhere to these conditions, they should know that the strait will be fully reopened, and after that we will hold further rounds of negotiations until a final agreement is reached," he said.gulfnews.com+1

He also said Iran and Oman had agreed on fixed routes for ships entering and leaving the strait, with mapped coordinates, to be used if it reopens. He said Iran had opened special routes for Iraqi ships to reduce Baghdad's losses. He warned that any ship trying to pass now "will face major security problems." Russia's state news agency TASS quoted him saying vessel restrictions will stay in place without an agreement.ina.iq+1

Washington's response

Rubio said oil tanker traffic through the strait is above 80 percent of pre-war levels, a figure Iran has repeatedly denied. In an interview with India's Network18, he accused Tehran of "Nazi U-boat tactics" against commercial vessels. He said a deal was hard because Iran is controlled by "radical Shia clerics," and that Washington would keep up "extraordinary economic pressure". US Central Command said most of Iran's attempted attacks on shipping have failed, while noting that a container ship, the GFS Pride, was hit and later sank (Fox News ↗ 2.43%).iranintl.com+2

Hardening positions in Tehran

Other Iranian officials toughened their positions on Tuesday. Speaking to visiting Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US must lift sanctions and end its threats before any talks. Security official Mohsen Rezaei said "not a single gram" of enriched uranium would leave Iran.foxnews.com

Araghchi described Washington as the side blocking progress, saying "the doors to diplomacy are open, and the negotiating table is available".ina.iq