Iran says Hormuz will remain closed until US meets June agreement terms

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States fulfils its commitments under a June agreement and meets Tehran’s conditions. Speaking in parliament, Ghalibaf said Iran had “explicitly conveyed its conditions to the opposing side through intermediaries,” according to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB.

Reuters has previously reported that Tehran has tied the reopening of the strait to US commitments under the June memorandum, including lifting its blockade of Iranian ports, oil sanctions and other measures. “The enemy is well aware that the path of deception and unilateral imposition is closed,” Qalibaf said, adding that there would be no return to negotiations or reopening of the waterway until Iran’s rights were recognised and US commitments fulfilled.

The Strait of Hormuz is a major route for global oil and gas shipments, and traffic through the waterway has remained sharply below pre-war levels amid the continuing tensions.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards insisted Sunday that they would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States complied with a list of demands, including paying compensation for war damage. The Supreme National Security Council laid out on Saturday a list of conditions for reopening the strait, including an end to the war on all fronts, the lifting of a US counterblockade of Iranian ports, the end of sanctions, the release of frozen assets and compensation for wartime damage, the Tasnim news agency reported. Those conditions echoed the terms of the June agreement, which included a provision to create a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said earlier on Sunday that Tehran was only "exchanging messages" with the US via intermediaries.