Tehran, Aug 9 (V7N) – Iran's Revolutionary Guards have declared they will not reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz until the United States complies with a list of demands, including compensation for war damages and the lifting of sanctions .
The strait has been effectively blockaded since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February. Iran, which demands tolls for passage and has struck ships attempting to bypass its preferred route, has linked any reopening to broader political and financial concessions .
On Saturday, Iran's security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr laid out conditions for reopening, including an end to "war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq," the lifting of the US counterblockade of Iranian ports, the end of sanctions, the release of frozen assets, and compensation for wartime damage . The Guards reiterated on Sunday that the closure would continue "until the enemy accepts all our conditions," adding that "the strait is now actually a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway" .
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that discussions with Oman over transit management are "approaching the final stages," but stressed the reopening "is subject to other conditions and compensation for the violation" of a June memorandum . He denied that Iran is negotiating with the US, saying they are merely "exchanging messages" via intermediaries .
Iran's demands are supported by its allies. Yemen's Houthi rebels announced on Sunday they had struck a Saudi oil facility on the Red Sea coast in a parallel maritime blockade . Meanwhile, the UAE condemned an Iranian missile strike on an ADNOC tanker in the strait on Saturday, and the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported a ship was hit by a projectile off Oma.
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