Strait of Hormuz Closed Until US Meets Demands
Iran's Supreme National Security Council has issued a list of requirements for reopening the strategic passage, including a permanent end to hostilities and payment of war reparations.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council has issued a list of requirements for reopening the strategic passage, including a permanent end to hostilities and payment of war reparations.
On Friday, August 8, 2026, Iran's Supreme National Security Council set new conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global route for oil transportation. The passage will remain closed, they stated, "until the US mends its ways."
The detailed list of demands was presented by Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of the Supreme Council and former chief of staff of the Revolutionary Guard's Joint Staff. He emphasized that the United States must permanently end its war with Iran and its regional allies, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, and must never again threaten Tehran.
In addition to a cessation of hostilities, Zolghadr stated that Washington must lift the naval blockade on Iranian ports and withdraw its military from the region. The Supreme Council also insists on the payment of full war reparations for all damage Iran has suffered in the conflicts during 2025 and 2026.
The list of demands also includes the lifting of all sanctions and the unconditional release of all frozen Iranian assets. These conditions, which were previously the basis for reaching a comprehensive permanent agreement with the US, are now set exclusively as the price for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Shortly after the announcement of Iran's conditions, US Vice President James David Vance told Fox News that Tehran had signaled it did not intend to charge for transit through the strait. This information was also confirmed by an anonymous diplomat from one of the mediating countries in the negotiations, adding that the interim agreement on reopening Hormuz stipulates a ban on any transit fees for both sides.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Iran and Oman are close to reaching an agreement on a new route through the Strait of Hormuz. One of Tehran's key conditions in these negotiations remains the demand for the US to pay war reparations.
It is worth recalling that tensions around the Strait of Hormuz directly impact global energy security, given that a significant portion of the world's oil trade passes through this strategic passage.
