Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. Photo: AFP / Seyed
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday they would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, vital to the world economy, until the United States met Tehran’s conditions set out the day before, including compensation for war damages.
Iran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait since the United States and Israel attacked in late February, and wants to charge tolls for passage, striking ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.
Continued attacks in the waterway, which was free to transit before the war, led to the collapse of an April ceasefire. Mediators have urged both sides to return to the terms of a subsequent June memorandum that set out a path for peace talks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said discussions with Oman over transit and management of the strait were “approaching the final stages”, but added that the reopening of Hormuz “is subject to other conditions and compensation for the violation” of the June agreement.
