Iran has said it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States changes its policies towards Tehran, a move that could further complicate ongoing negotiations over the strategic waterway.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the US must stop threatening Iran, end the ongoing war and withdraw its military forces from the region before the strait can be reopened.
Tehran also demanded compensation for war-related damages, the lifting of sanctions, an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and the unconditional release of frozen Iranian assets.
The demands were contained in a statement issued by the council’s secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and published by Iranian state media on Saturday.
The United States has yet to respond to the latest demands.
Washington has been pushing for an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz as part of efforts to end the blockade, while Iran has maintained that reopening the waterway depends on meeting additional conditions.
Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, also said Tehran was close to reaching a separate agreement with Oman on navigation through the strait, including the establishment of a specific transit route.
Oman, which is mediating the negotiations, said discussions were continuing in a “positive and constructive atmosphere” while condemning attacks on vessels passing through the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important routes for the transportation of crude oil and natural gas. However, shipping activities have remained significantly low since the conflict began.
The latest tensions followed an attack on a vessel belonging to Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company, ADNOC, while it was sailing through the strait.
ADNOC said no one was killed in the latest attack but disclosed that more than a dozen of its vessels had been targeted by missiles and drones since the United States and Israel began the war against Iran in February.
The company said one crew member had been killed while 20 others were injured in the attacks.
Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported that another vessel near Khasab, Oman, was hit by a projectile, causing a fire.
The vessel and its crew were later reported to be safe.
