Iran demands US action before reopening Strait of Hormuz

Iran has told mediators that the United States must act before formal negotiations can restart, placing the future of the Strait of Hormuz at the centre of a widening diplomatic impasse, according to The National.

Iranian and US officials exchanged proposals through intermediaries in New York during the week of the UN General Assembly. The contacts were intended to explore how months of conflict might end and how shipping through the strategic waterway could resume. They did not, however, produce an agreement or visible movement from Tehran’s established position.

People familiar with the Iranian delegation and Western diplomats told The National that Iran had offered no new concessions. Instead, Tehran was awaiting an answer to demands delivered to Washington in a document during the discussions.

An Iranian source said the meetings were designed to pass messages and clarify positions, rather than constitute direct negotiations. Another person involved in mediation described the exchanges as an attempt to test how much flexibility each side might have.

Hormuz becomes the central obstacle

Iran has tied the reopening of the waterway to several steps, including a reduction in US military pressure and the removal of what Tehran describes as a blockade on its ports. Washington has opposed such measures before Iran provides what the US considers meaningful evidence of goodwill.

The public position from Tehran became more explicit when Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said seven conditions had been sent to the US through regional intermediaries. Pakistan and Qatar were identified as channels after discussions involving President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Rezaei said Iran would not reopen the waterway or enter negotiations until those requirements were met. His remarks indicate that the issue is not simply part of a wider bargaining process: Tehran is presenting access to Hormuz as a prerequisite for further diplomacy.

Pezeshkian made a similar appeal in an interview broadcast by Fox News on Thursday. He said the decision over whether to end the conflict rested with Washington, reinforcing Iran’s insistence that the first move must come from the US.

That position followed comments from State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott, who told The National that President Donald Trump held an advantageous position in dealings with Iran. The competing messages point to a fundamental disagreement over sequencing. Iran wants pressure eased before it takes steps, while Washington is seeking action from Tehran first.

International pressure grows

The dispute has consequences well beyond the two governments. Hormuz is a major route for energy shipments, and governments are pressing for unrestricted passage through it. Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani read a statement at the UN on Thursday backed by about 80 countries. It called for the waterway to reopen urgently and condemned what it described as Iranian attacks on neighbouring states and commercial shipping.

The National reports that European governments and Washington are also discussing a separate initiative at the UN Security Council. The proposed measure would provide political support for an international military operation intended to protect navigation through Hormuz. Its text is still being prepared.

Supporters believe this approach could be more acceptable to China and Russia than an earlier proposal backed by Bahrain. High oil prices are adding to the pressure for an international response. Iran opposes the proposed maritime mission.

The diplomatic stalemate comes as the disruption imposes costs on both sides and on the wider economy. US sanctions and the blockade are placing heavy pressure on Iran. In the United States, the conflict has contributed to concern about rising petrol and diesel prices, an especially sensitive issue less than six weeks before the midterm elections.

Political risks in Washington

The war is also becoming a domestic political liability for the White House. On Thursday, the US Senate narrowly rejected a resolution that would have required Trump to end the conflict or seek congressional authorisation. Democrats had used the vote to challenge Republicans over a war that has become unpopular before the November elections.

Polls show Republicans facing difficulty in retaining their narrow congressional majorities on November 3, and some members of the party have begun distancing themselves from the conflict.

For now, the diplomatic channel remains open but limited. The New York meetings have established what each side is demanding without resolving the order in which concessions should be made. Iran’s conditions, particularly those linked to Hormuz, remain in place; Washington has yet to provide the response Tehran says it is waiting for.