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Hormuz stays shut
Iran’s top security official said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States changes what Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr described as its hostile policies and meets Iranian demands.
“Washington must “correct its behavior” before the strategic waterway can reopen.”
Zolghadr said Washington must “correct its behavior” before the waterway can reopen, and he listed six conditions including ending threats against Iran’s supreme leader and lifting U.S. sanctions and withdrawing U.S. naval and air forces around Iran.
An Anadolu Ajansı report also quoted Iranian army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia saying the “Iranian order” governing the Strait of Hormuz was “irreversible,” adding the U.S. had “no choice but to accept the existing reality” or face “far greater costs than before.”
The same Anadolu Ajansı account tied the stance to an impasse in negotiations over navigation through the strait, after Iran and the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18 through Pakistani and Qatari mediation to end active hostilities and launch talks toward a broader agreement.
Oman talks, UAE strike
While Iran and Oman negotiate arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates said Iran hit another ship in the strait, with the NBC News report citing the UAE claim that no injuries were reported.
NBC News quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying Iran and Oman were “very close” to agreement on a new shipping route but that reopening depended on other conditions, including U.S. compensation to Iran.
The UAE foreign ministry condemned what it called a “hostile Iranian attack that targeted a tanker belonging to ADNOC with a missile while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, without causing casualties,” according to Hürriyet Daily News.
Hürriyet Daily News also reported that the UK Maritime Trade Operations said a ship was hit by a projectile off Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire that was extinguished but no casualties, while it remained unclear whether it was the same ship.
Demands complicate reopening
The dispute over reopening the Strait of Hormuz deepened as Iran issued a sweeping list of demands, with The New York Times reporting that Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr said the strait would remain closed until the United States met certain conditions.
“the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States met certain conditions”
The New York Times said Zolghadr’s statement called for the United States to lift its naval blockade and sanctions on Iran, withdraw the U.S. military from around Iran, pay war reparations and release frozen Iranian assets, and end attacks on Iran’s allies and threats against the country.
In parallel, the Reuters report said a U.S. official expected progress between Iran and Oman that could soon reopen the strait and restore oil exports disrupted by the five-month-old U.S. war with Iran, with the official telling Reuters: “There is progress between Oman and Iran on the strait, and we expect a deal soon.”
Reuters added that once the deal was announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, “the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports,” while also noting that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said 15 of its vessels had been struck in what it called unprovoked attacks while transiting the strait since the start of the conflict.
