Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Stays Closed Until U.S. Accepts Its Conditions

Iran refuted President Donald Trump’s claim that Washington has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the waterway will remain closed until the United States accepts Iran’s demands and changes its “behaviour”.

“As long as America does not change its behaviour and does not accept Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened.”

Al Jazeera

Mohsen Rezaei, the newly appointed head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told China’s ambassador to Tehran, Cong Peiwu, “As long as America does not change its behaviour and does not accept Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened.”

ABC News

Trump, speaking at Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday, insisted, “We totally control the Strait of Hormuz. We have control over it; nobody else, only us,” while ABC News reported he also said, “I don't trust Iran.”

The dispute is playing out alongside continued attacks on shipping, including a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter firing two Hellfire missiles at a Panama-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after it allegedly attempted to violate the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, according to U.S. Central Command.

Reuters said the attacks came as prospects for ending the Iran war appeared to dim, with Tehran saying the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepts its conditions.

As Iran and the United States traded tougher conditions, Pakistan said it was working to revive stalled direct talks and prevent efforts to derail the peace process, with Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi telling a weekly press briefing, “Pakistan is making all-out efforts to bring the two parties to the negotiating table.”

Anadolu Ajansı reported that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, as Islamabad continued its diplomatic push to end months of conflict.

Al Jazeera

In the same period, the U.S. and Iran continued exchanging strikes, and Reuters said both sides stepped up rhetoric in the past two days, with Mohsen Rezaei stating the Strait of Hormuz shipping route will remain closed unless the U.S. accepts Iran’s conditions.

International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez condemned Tuesday’s deadly attack on a cargo ship off the coast of Yemen, saying, “It is particularly troublesome that the most recent attack has taken place in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden area.”

Reuters reported that at the southern end of the Red Sea, four crew members were killed and two Yemeni rescuers died in a suspected Houthi attack on the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, while the U.S. military disabled the Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova by firing two Hellfire missiles into its engine room.

The Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are described as vital chokepoints for global oil supplies, with Al Jazeera saying one-fifth of global oil and natural gas is shipped through Hormuz during peacetime and about 11 percent of global oil and 8 percent of liquefied natural gas (LNG) passes through Bab al-Mandeb.

“Brent crude futures climbed 1.4% to settle at $88.91 per barrel”

Reuters

Reuters reported that oil prices gained and global shares retreated amid renewed pessimism about a quick end to the conflict, with Brent crude futures climbing 1.4% to settle at $88.91 per barrel and U.S. crude rising 1.3% to $83.20.

CNN said shipping data does not back up Trump’s claim that the strait is “open,” and Reuters added that the number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to a one-week low on Tuesday, with Kpler data showing eight vessels transiting the strait below the 10-day average of about 12.

The Independent warned that the urgency of reopening the Strait has increased, quoting the International Energy Agency that “risks remain substantial and the urgency of reopening the Strait has increased,” while also noting Trump’s insistence that the U.S. “totally control[s] the Strait of Hormuz.”

With the blockade and attacks continuing, Bloomberg reported that the cost of chartering a supertanker to carry oil along the benchmark Middle East–China route approached US$500,000 per day, more than double the pre-war cost, as talks remained constrained by Iran’s demands including lifting the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and releasing frozen assets.