Iran Ties Hormuz Reopening to US Concessions

Iran will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until the United States changes its approach and accepts Tehran’s conditions for ending the war, the Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Mohsen Rezaei, the newly appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

“Until America changes its behavior and accepts Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened,” Rezaei said.

The demands include an end to the war, the payment of frozen Iranian assets and a halt to hostilities across the wider region, including in Lebanon and Gaza. Rezaei said the conditions had been conveyed to Washington through intermediaries.

He also stressed that a potential agreement between Iran and Oman on transit routes through the strategic strait was a separate issue and would not automatically lead to its reopening.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has demanded that Iran pay compensation for people killed in wars, attacks and protests, as well as for damage he said Tehran had caused over the past 50 years. He also described Tehran as “very devious negotiators” and said one option was to hit Iran “really, really hard”.

(Reuters, mja)