Middle East — 2026-08-12

Iran Top Security Official Says Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen Unless US Meets Conditions as Pakistan Mediates

BLUFRezaei's conditions for reopening Hormuz amount to war-termination demands Washington will not accept, making resumed strait transit very unlikely within 30 days despite active Pakistani and Qatari mediation.

Mohsen Rezaei, newly appointed head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told China's ambassador to Tehran on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until Washington ends the war and naval blockade, releases Iran's frozen assets, and agrees to a region-wide ceasefire covering Lebanon and Gaza 12. Rezaei said any separate agreement between Iran and Oman on transit routes through the strait will have no bearing on Iran's reopening decision 1. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran the same day, with talks covering regional developments and bilateral ties as Islamabad continues mediating between Iran and the US 23. Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman separately said Iran-Oman talks on Hormuz shipping routes had reached an advanced stage, describing recent statements from both capitals as positive 2. There was no immediate comment from Washington 2.

Analysis
Full reopening within 30 days is very unlikely: Rezaei's conditions, war termination, blockade end, frozen-asset release, and a Lebanon-Gaza ceasefire, demand concessions Washington has given no sign of accepting, and he has explicitly decoupled any Iran-Oman transit arrangement from the broader decision, closing off the likeliest partial opening. Pakistani mediation opens a diplomatic channel but carries no leverage over the war-termination and asset demands that actually gate Tehran's move. Confidence is high, resting on convergent primary reporting, Press TV's direct rendering of Rezaei and Aaj English's coverage of the Naqvi-Araghchi meeting, independently corroborated by Al Jazeera and NBC rather than a single wire, against a total absence of US counteroffer. The restated maximalism may function more as negotiating leverage and domestic signaling than a fixed line, leaving room for a narrower Iran-Oman shipping arrangement to open partial lanes; continued closure otherwise keeps war-risk premiums elevated and naval assets tied down enforcing the blockade.

4 sources

Strait of Hormuz will reopen only when US accepts Iran's conditions: SNSC chief - Press TV
Iran holds firm on Hormuz conditions as Pakistans Naqvi visits Tehran - Al Jazeera
Naqvi meets Iran's Araghchi in Tehran, discusses regional situation - Aaj English TV
Iran makes new strait demands, the UAE says a ship was targeted and other Middle East news - NBC News