The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen unless the United States accepts Iran’s conditions, according to statements from Iranian officials. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohbi said Iran controls the waterway and that vessels cannot transit it without Iranian permission and management.
Mohbi, quoted by Sepah News, said Iran and Oman negotiated about a month ago and reached mutually acceptable agreements on the allocation of maritime areas in the Strait of Hormuz and the division of revenues between the two countries. He said US interference had delayed implementation of the agreement.
Mohbi said Iran could open the strait within the agreed framework if the United States stops interfering and returns to the memorandum of understanding. However, he said the waterway would remain closed if Washington does not accept Iran’s conditions.
Iran strengthens military posture as Hormuz remains restricted
Mohbi also said there were no enemy warships in the Persian Gulf. He maintained that, from Iran’s military and territorial-jurisdiction perspective, vessels require Iranian permission to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian military spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said Tehran has upgraded its military capabilities and accelerated the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged during the war. He said Iran plans to shift its posture from defense to offense to deter possible further US strikes.
Akraminia said Iran carried out several preemptive actions during the final phase of the war. He said an attack on a US military base in Jordan helped deter further US attacks. He also said the government would offer cash rewards to anyone who captures US soldiers entering Iranian territory.
Akraminia added that Iran has acquired new military equipment and made significant progress in rebuilding infrastructure damaged during the war. He said vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz would be monitored before arrival and would only be allowed to pass with Iranian permission.
Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said on August 25 that US sanctions on Iran were unilateral measures rather than UN or multilateral sanctions. He urged international pressure on Israel to honour agreed plans, citing Israeli operations in Gaza and the West Bank and attacks on Syrian and Lebanese sovereignty. Ansari said he had seen no positive progress toward diplomatic compliance.
On August 26, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the latest US economic sanctions would not produce results. He said maintaining economic stability and controlling inflation were essential amid the war, economic blockade and external pressure. Pezeshkian added that managing key markets, particularly currency and foreign exchange markets, requires coordination between monetary policy institutions, the government and other state economic bodies.
