Hormuz will stay closed until US changes its behavior: Iran’s security chief

Iran's top security official has reiterated that the country will not ease restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz until the United States genuinely changes its behavior toward Tehran.

Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said in a message on Saturday that Iran's policy to deal with the United States is to avoid any concessions that would violate the rights of the Iranian people.

"The SNSC will never back down, whether in war or in negotiations," said Zolqadr, whose body is in charge of handling Iran's current confrontation with the US.

Iran has imposed restrictions on transit via the Strait of Hormuz since the early days of the US-Israeli war of aggression in early March. The waterway is responsible for a fifth of global oil demand and a third of the world's supply of fertilizers.

Zolqadr said in his message, which was specifically addressed to the Iranian media on the occasion of Journalist's Day in the country, included six main conditions that Iran views as critical to reopening the Strait.

The conditions were for the US to refrain from threatening or insulting the sacred beliefs of the Iranian nation, a permanent end of aggression on Iran and its regional allies, lifting the naval blockade and all sanctions on the country, returning its frozen assets, and paying compensation for damage resulting from the aggression.

The SNSC chief said the conditions are in fact the demands cried out by millions of Iranians who have been on the streets to support their government and country since the start of the aggression on February 28.

Araghchi: Iran, Oman ‘very close’ to Hormuz deal; reopening depends on US complying with MoU

Iran says it is very close to reaching an agreement with Oman on a new mechanism for managing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian officials say the United States has violated the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by attempting to establish new shipping routes in the strait close to Omani shores. 

Under Article Five of the memorandum, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was expected to return to normal levels within one month.

While Iran implemented its end of the agreement by easing restrictions and allowing transit to return to 60 percent of normal levels within two weeks, Washington failed not only to uphold its end of the bargain but also resumed airstrikes on the country. 

The Islamic Republic responded by declaring the strait closed again. 

But Iran has since engaged in separate negotiations with neighboring Oman, a longtime regional mediator with close ties to both Tehran and Washington, on managing the strategic waterway. 

The talks focus on establishing a new legal framework and mechanism for managing shipping through the strait, including the designation of a temporary navigation route that could serve as the basis for a permanent arrangement.

However, Iranian officials have made clear that reaching an understanding with Oman does not automatically guarantee the full reopening of the strait.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that an agreement with Oman was close but emphasized that the resumption of normal transit depends on additional conditions, primarily the US compensating Iran for its violations of the Islamabad MoU.

Similarly, Brigadier General Hossein Mohebi, spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), also made clear that the reopening of Hormuz hinges on Washington fully accepting Tehran’s conditions and ending its interference in regional affairs. 

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