Iran declared Saturday that there will be no agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the United States “corrects its behavior,” issuing a series of new demands that appeared to complicate ongoing diplomatic efforts despite recent signs of progress.
According to the Times of Israel, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran would not move forward without significant concessions from Washington. Among Iran’s demands is a pledge that the United States “never” threaten the country again.
The statement was released just hours after Vice President JD Vance expressed optimism about the direction of negotiations during an interview with Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany.
“I do think that we’ve made some progress over the last few days,” Vance said, signaling that discussions between the two countries had advanced.
Earlier Saturday, comments from another Iranian official also suggested that negotiations were tied directly to Tehran’s conditions.
Reuters, citing Iran’s Tasnim news agency, reported that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen “whenever the United States accepts Iran’s conditions.”
However, any momentum generated by those remarks appeared to fade later in the day as Iran’s Supreme National Security Council released a broader list of demands through the country’s state broadcaster.
According to the Times of Israel, Tehran is insisting on a permanent end to the war involving Iran and its regional proxy groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.
The Iranian government is also demanding that the United States end its naval blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw all American military forces from the region.
In addition, Tehran is seeking full compensation for damage resulting from the conflict, which began on Feb. 28 with joint airstrikes carried out by Israel and the United States.
Iran’s list of conditions also includes the complete removal of U.S. sanctions and the release of all frozen Iranian financial assets.
The demands represent a significant expansion of the issues tied to negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route whose status has remained a focal point throughout the conflict.
The latest developments come after earlier hopes that the fighting had ended. In June, both sides reached a memorandum of understanding that provided a 60-day window to negotiate a permanent agreement.
That optimism proved short-lived as hostilities resumed soon afterward.
The renewed conflict prompted the United States to launch nearly two consecutive weeks of airstrikes against Iran. The campaign also saw the deaths of several American soldiers.
Despite the renewed fighting, President Donald Trump has continued to express confidence that a diplomatic resolution remains within reach.
Trump has repeatedly said that a deal was “imminent,” even as negotiations have faced repeated setbacks.
Saturday’s statement from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, however, appeared to underscore the significant differences that remain between the two sides. While U.S. officials have pointed to recent progress in talks, Tehran’s latest demands suggest that any agreement involving the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will depend on the United States accepting a broad range of conditions that extend well beyond the waterway itself.
