Iran continues to deny claims by the United States that it maintains control over the Strait of Hormuz as negotiations aimed at reaching a peace deal between the two sides falter. US President Donald Trump repeated his assertion on Wednesday that the US is in “total control” of the critical waterway, a claim met with immediate and angry denials from Tehran. Iranian officials have stated unequivocally that the strait will not be reopened until their specific demands regarding US aggression, reparations, and sanctions are fully addressed.
“Claims and repeated posts by US officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality,” Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) posted on X on Wednesday. The authority added, “The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran’s conditions are accepted.” Despite Trump’s rhetoric, shipping traffic through the key waterway has dropped to a one-week low as a direct result of the ongoing Iranian blockade.
The current diplomatic impasse is rooted in a breakdown of previous agreements. On June 17, the two sides remotely signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) intended to kick-start a 60-day negotiation process. However, Iran now asserts that it is not speaking directly to the US because it believes Washington violated that MoU by restarting strikes on Iran in July. Iranian officials, including Mohammad-Ebrahim Eyre, have indicated that direct dialogue is currently considered worthless because Tehran “can’t count on anything the US says.”
The list of Iranian conditions for de-escalation is extensive. These six requirements include an end to US threats against Iran and a cessation of insults to what official Mohammad-Ebrahim Zolghadr described as the country’s national and religious values. Furthermore, Iran demands a permanent end to attacks against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq, alongside the lifting of the US naval blockade and the withdrawal of naval and air forces from the vicinity of Iran. Tehran also seeks compensation for damages from what it terms two “imposed wars” and the total lifting of economic sanctions.
Meanwhile, military tensions remain high. On Tuesday, US forces targeted a Panama-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman that they alleged was headed for an Iranian port and had failed to respond to warnings. On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the US “has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures,” specifically citing the joint US-Israel strikes on Tehran on February 28. Araghchi characterized Washington’s recent actions in the Strait of Hormuz as “an even bigger miscalculation,” adding, “Worse than fake news is fake intelligence.”
Hojjatoleslam Hossein Taeb, commander of the paramilitary Basij Organisation, an affiliate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reiterated that the strait remains under Iranian management. “Today you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic Republic, and our country continues on its path in complete security,” Taeb said on Thursday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. He further claimed that the Americans had finally witnessed the true power of the Islamic revolution.
The political rhetoric has also extended to financial demands. President Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that his administration intends to seek payment for “50 years” of damage caused by Iran. He framed this as a response to Tehran’s claims, stating the funds would cover deaths among US forces in the region as well as civilian protesters. Trump claimed that 52,000 people have been killed in Iran in the last four months, a figure that contrasts sharply with other reports. Tehran asserts that 3,117 people died in anti-government protests in January, while the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported approximately 7,000 deaths in February, including 6,500 protesters.
Analysts suggest that despite the aggressive posturing, the US may eventually be forced to concede to some of Iran’s demands. There is growing domestic pressure within the United States to avoid a wider regional escalation. As one analyst, Assidi, noted, the primary focus for Iran remains security assurances that could pave the way for long-term stability.
Currently, Iran is not engaging in direct talks with the US regarding the strait. Instead, it is conducting indirect negotiations through Oman. These discussions aim to resolve disagreements that arose after the June 17 MoU, specifically regarding Iran’s desire to charge transit fees to ships passing through the waterway. The strait, which previously functioned as a fully open passage, remains a point of contention as both sides struggle to find common ground.
On Tuesday, Qatar announced that negotiations between Iran and Oman had reached “an advanced stage.” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari stated during a news conference, “As mediators, we want the Strait of Hormuz reopened as soon as possible.” Negotiators are currently attempting to craft a compromise that would allow commercial shipping to resume while simultaneously addressing the security concerns of both Iran and Oman.
The situation remains volatile, with one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies passing through the narrow waterway. Iranian forces continue to prevent ships from navigating the strait unless they receive express approval from Tehran, further tightening the blockade.
As the standoff persists, the international community watches closely. The combination of military posturing, conflicting intelligence reports, and the breakdown of the June 17 agreement has created a complex web of challenges that mediators are currently working to untangle before the regional economic impact worsens.
Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US on June 17, under which Iran undertook to keep the strait open for 60 days, there were soon disagreements about control of the waterway and t
Iran fired on some ships it said had not followed its permitted route, leading to a renewal of hostilities with the US.
Commenting on the possibility of future talks between the longtime foes, Negar Mortazavi, senior fellow at the US-based Center for International Policy, said the key question is whether the escalatory rhetoric from both
Now, Pakistan is making efforts to mediate peace talks.
In April, the US and Iran held face-to-face negotiations, with US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf attending talks in Islamabad.
However, various disagreements prevented that process from getting off the ground, and talks have stalled since then.
Alan Eyre, a distinguished diplomatic fellow with the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera earlier this month that the only important negotiations taking place right now are Iran-Oman talks over the Strait of Hormuz.
Commenting on the possibility of future talks between the longtime foes, Negar Mortazavi, senior fellow at the US-based Center for International Policy, said the key question is whether the escalatory rhetoric from both sides is “opening negotiating positions or actual red lines”.
“If they are not, Hormuz could remain restricted, and the confrontation risks becoming another prolonged, open-ended conflict in the Middle East.”
sanctions; and the unconditional release of frozen Iranian assets.
The US media have reported that concerns over dwindling defensive munitions have contributed to Trump’s decision not to carry out his threatened large-scale strikes against Iran.
