Iran sets tough conditions for reopening Strait of Hormuz as talks stall
Iran said the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed until the US changes its behaviour, while the UAE reported one of its vessels was hit by an Iranian missile, with a final deal still elusive on Saturday.
The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who also serves as a commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in a statement carried by state television that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the United States "corrects its behaviour".
The statement demanded that the US never again threaten Iran and permanently end the war with Iran and its regional allies. It also called on Washington to lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdraw its military forces from the region, fully compensate Iran for war damage, lift sanctions, and unconditionally release frozen Iranian assets. There has been no immediate response from the US, which has said it wants an acceptable agreement on the strait before lifting the blockade.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that negotiators were close to an agreement on navigation, particularly on setting a transit route, but stressed that reopening the waterway depends on other conditions being met. He blamed the impasse on what he described as US violations of the interim agreement signed in June.
Oman, acting as mediator, said the talks were proceeding in "a positive and constructive atmosphere" and condemned attacks on shipping in the strait. Iran has effectively blockaded the waterway and is seeking to charge fees for passage, repeatedly striking vessels it accuses of trying to avoid its preferred route.
The 60-day window for reaching a final deal is set to expire in just over a week, though it could be extended. An April ceasefire collapsed after continued attacks in the strait, which had been freely used for international shipping before the war.
On Saturday, a vessel owned by Abu Dhabi's state oil company Adnoc was attacked while transiting the strait; the UAE foreign ministry said Iran fired the missile. Adnoc reported no casualties from this incident but said more than a dozen of its ships have been struck by missiles and drones since the war between the US, Israel and Iran began in February, leaving one crew member dead and 20 wounded. Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported a vessel struck by a projectile near Khasab, Oman, causing a fire that was extinguished with no injuries.
