There are no ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday, after Tehran set out a steep series of demands for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe intermediaries are still making efforts to find ways to resume negotiations,\u201d Araghchi said.<\/p>\n
He tempered optimism stirred by Iran\u2019s separate discussions with Oman over the future management of the waterway, saying that \u201cchanges to maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz are a technical and legal matter and do not mean that the Strait of Hormuz has been reopened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Araghchi\u2019s statement came a day after top Iranian security official Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr laid out the country\u2019s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, saying it would not do so \u201cuntil America corrects its behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement from Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council secretary, as carried by Iranian state media, stated that the U.S. must withdraw its naval blockade, pay Iran damages for the war, unfreeze Iranian assets, lift sanctions on Tehran and permanently end the conflict against Iran and its regional allies.<\/p>\n
Even though the demands are steep, analysts say they are still largely within the framework of the initial deal the two sides reached in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Supreme National Security Council of Iran, which is really a consensus body, they have come to a realization that for them the best route is returning back to the MOU,\u201d said Mehran Haghirian, director of research and programmes at the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation London-based think tank, in a phone interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want to make sure that they get some of those things upfront, or at least there is a process for them before there is any movement on Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n
The U.S. has yet to respond publicly to the list of conditions. Top officials have previously ruled out making any immediate payments to Iran during past efforts to seal a deal to end the war.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s enriched uranium stockpile has also been a sticking point for Washington, which insists Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions. The stalled negotiations have left the Strait of Hormuz largely impassable for months, save for brief periods of operation. Thousands of sailors remain stranded in the region, unable to return home or keep the world\u2019s supply of oil flowing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re really working through now is how you can actually set up a traffic scheme so that the ships that pass can pass through safely,\u201d Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Saturday. That scheme, Vance said, would include demining efforts and also assurances from Tehran that it would not fire on transiting vessels.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Oman condemned attacks on the vessels that were attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, saying in a statement that such attacks could affect its negotiations with Iran over the waterway\u2019s management. The UAE and Kuwait on Saturday also condemned an Iranian missile attack on an Abu Dhabi National Oil Company tanker.<\/p>\n
Oman nonetheless said its discussions with Iran were \u201cproceeding in a positive and constructive atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran and Oman, neighbors across the Strait of Hormuz, have been negotiating an agreement on how to manage traffic through the waterway, including considerations of a toll fee. The discussions have also been viewed optimistically, raising hopes that they could finally lead to reopening the strait.<\/p>\n
But Iranian officials have dismissed any such possibility. Iran\u2019s discussions with Oman do \u201cnot mean the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d Araghchi said Saturday.<\/p>\n