Iran said Sunday that it is holding no talks with the United States over the Strait of Hormuz, and that the waterway will not reopen until Washington accepts a list of Iranian demands.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made the comments on August 9, according to DR, which cited the news agency Reuters. He said Tehran will not begin negotiations while Washington is breaching the understandings signed in June.
Araqchi added that messages between the two countries are not being exchanged directly, but through mediators. Per DR, he also said Iran is close to an agreement with Oman on passage through and operation of the strait.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard stated separately that the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global shipping, will stay closed until the United States meets its conditions. The Guard said the strategy is to maintain the closure until all of Iran’s terms are accepted.
The six demands
The list requires the United States to lift its naval blockade and its sanctions on Iran, and to withdraw American military forces from the area around the country. It also calls for war reparations to Iran, the release of frozen Iranian funds, and an end to attacks on Iran’s regional allies.
The demands were presented on Saturday, August 8, according to CNBC, whose report is linked by DR. CNBC’s account includes the calls to end the blockade and sanctions, reduce the American military presence, and free frozen assets.
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Isabel Bramsen, associate professor and head of Peace and Conflict Studies at Lund University, told DR that the six demands are maximalist. She pointed to the reparations claim and the requirement to stop the wars around Iran, in Palestine and in Yemen.
According to Bramsen, that combination makes it difficult to move forward and actually reopen the strait. She assessed that Iran currently holds the stronger position in the standoff.
DR reported that no response had come from the White House at the time of publication.
Why the timing matters
The Iranian statements follow public optimism from Washington earlier in the month. Five days before Araqchi spoke, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States was close to concluding negotiations with Iran, DR noted.
Bessent said at the time that a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz could happen within a day or two. The Revolutionary Guard’s demand list, issued Saturday, and Araqchi’s Sunday remarks set out a different position from Tehran.
DR’s report also referenced earlier coverage in which Iran accused the United States of breaking the June agreement. The current dispute centers on that alleged breach, with **no direct channel** between Washington and Tehran and mediators carrying the messages.
