August 10, 2026 — 12:01pm
Iran’s demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, as laid out in a statement on Saturday, are largely what US President Donald Trump had already agreed to do in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was signed on June 17 and quickly fell apart.
But Iran sees control over the strait as its best chance of getting Trump to deliver on those promises – and is not willing to give it up just yet.
For Iran, analysts suggest, denying Trump the ability to claim victory over the strait is the most efficient lever to persuade him to recommit to those agreements and to implement them. Keeping the strait largely closed keeps energy prices high and is also a way to ensure that Persian Gulf states, which depend on the strait for exports, will also encourage Washington to return to the memorandum.
The level of mistrust between Iran and the United States is so high that Iran wants to ensure it gets the economic relief it has been promised, to enable reconstruction, before it gives up even partial control over the strait, said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, a think tank focused on economic diplomacy.
