Iran Sets U.S. Conditions for Strait of Hormuz Reopening as Oman Deal Nears
Iran says an Oman deal on new Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes is near, but demands U.S. compensation, sanctions relief and an end to military threats before reopening the key waterway.
Raja Awais Ali
8/10/20264 min read
Iran Sets U.S. Conditions for Strait of Hormuz Reopening as Oman Deal Nears
Iran says an agreement with Oman to establish new shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz is in its final stages, but Tehran has made clear that the strategic waterway will not reopen until the United States meets a series of demands, including compensation for damage caused by military attacks, an end to sanctions and military threats, and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that the agreement with Oman was close to completion and would define the shipping routes to be used once commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz resumes. However, he stressed that the reopening would depend on Washington taking steps demanded by Tehran.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy corridors and a major route for international oil and gas shipments. Iran blocked the waterway after U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran began in late February, triggering wider concerns over commercial shipping, regional security and global energy supplies.
A U.S. official said Iran and Oman were close to an arrangement that could help restore safe commercial passage through the strait. Under the proposed sequence, once an agreement is announced to restore commercial shipping without restrictions, the United States would lift its blockade of Iranian ports. The official added that U.S. actions would be linked to Iran implementing its own commitments.
The proposed arrangement remains politically sensitive because sources indicated that it could give Iran significant control over vessel traffic entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. Some shipping companies have questioned whether such an arrangement would be practical for international commercial operators.
Iran and the United States are not currently holding direct negotiations. Araqchi said Tehran would not begin direct talks with Washington as long as the United States continues to violate an interim agreement reached in June. Messages between the two sides are instead being exchanged through intermediaries.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, described Washington's approach toward Iran as “low-keying” the situation. In an interview with Axios, Trump said the United States was only “semi-negotiating” with Tehran while watching Iran struggle with severe inflation and financial pressure.
Iran's demands extend well beyond the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Araqchi said Washington must provide compensation for damage caused by U.S. attacks on Iran. Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, secretary of Iran's top national security body, listed additional conditions, including an end to further U.S. threats against Iran, a halt to military aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq, the removal of the U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf, the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
The dispute follows more than five months of escalating conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel. Washington and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, with Trump saying the campaign was intended to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and to reduce its ability to threaten the region.
The United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in June, but tensions quickly returned. Washington imposed a new blockade on Iranian shipping in the Gulf in July, which Tehran said violated the ceasefire. By that point, the truce had already broken down.
The uncertainty around Hormuz has also been accompanied by incidents involving commercial vessels. The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a vessel linked to its state oil company. Iran did not immediately comment on the allegation. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has previously attacked vessels that it accused of attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian permission.
The regional crisis is also affecting shipping routes beyond the Gulf. Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen have intensified attacks on vessels around another strategic maritime chokepoint between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month, saying it was a response to what they described as a Saudi siege in Yemen. Riyadh has denied the allegation.
On Sunday, the Houthis claimed they had attacked Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery. The incident came two days after Saudi Arabia signed a new defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan amid growing regional instability linked to the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry confirmed that a fire broke out at the refinery but said it was later extinguished and that no injuries were reported. The ministry did not give a cause for the fire.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the new Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani defence alliance was not directed against Iran or any other country. He described it instead as a broader commitment to supporting regional security.
Meanwhile, fighting between Houthi forces and Yemen's government forces has intensified. Yemen's military said on Monday that a Houthi attack on the Red Sea port city of Mocha killed seven people, including military personnel and civilians. The military also said air defences intercepted and destroyed 11 Houthi drones involved in the attack.
The possibility of reopening the Strait of Hormuz is therefore tied to a much wider regional confrontation. Iran wants major political, economic and security concessions from Washington before restoring unrestricted commercial passage, while the United States is linking its own actions to Iran's implementation of any commitments reached through the emerging Oman-mediated arrangement.
For global shipping and energy markets, the outcome could be significant. A successful agreement could help restore commercial traffic through one of the world's most important maritime routes and reduce pressure on regional energy supplies. But with Iran's demands, U.S. conditions, sanctions, military tensions and wider conflicts involving Yemen and the Red Sea all connected, the final outcome of the Oman-mediated process remains uncertain.
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