Iran will not reopen Strait of Hormuz until its conditions from June are met, Ghalibaf says

What Happened

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until Iran's seven conditions, based on the June Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding with the US, are met. Iran presented a proposal at the UN General Assembly under which the waterway could reopen and normal maritime passage be restored within seven days if conditions were met; the US replied to the proposal last week via Qatari intermediaries. Ghalibaf, described as Iran's top negotiator, said Washington must understand that 'the period of dragging out the (diplomatic) process and dictating one-sided demands is over.' Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had clarified its broad positions via mediators but still had additional points to communicate, and denied that Iran had entered nuclear discussions or offered UN nuclear watchdog inspections in exchange for sanctions relief. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told diplomats he hoped Washington would choose diplomacy but warned Iran was prepared to respond if the US again chose military action. Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia told Fars news agency Iran would upgrade the range of its missiles.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The Strait of Hormuz was the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the war that began at the end of February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Iran's stated refusal to reopen it until conditions are met directly threatens global energy flows and signals that Tehran is linking maritime security to broader US-Iran disagreements, while the nuclear file remains unresolved and Iran denies entering nuclear negotiations.

Watch For

Monitor whether Iran communicates its additional points to Washington through Qatari intermediaries and whether the two sides resolve the sequencing disagreement in the seven-day trust-building plan. Watch for any US decision on resuming large-scale military attacks, Iran's promised response, and implementation of the announced missile range upgrade by Iran's army.