Iran: Strait of Hormuz Stays Closed Despite Oman Deal
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- Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that "an agreement with Oman does not mean reopening the strait," dashing expectations that the vital waterway would soon resume commercial traffic.
- Iran issued a sweeping list of demands on Saturday: the U.S. must lift its naval blockade and sanctions, withdraw its military from around the country, pay war reparations, release frozen Iranian assets, end attacks on Iranian allies, and end threats against Iran.
- Iran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the war launched by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28, a conflict that has spread to neighboring countries and rocked global markets.
- President Trump said he had canceled a potentially enormous U.S. military assault on Iran, citing signs that the strait would soon reopen—a claim that now appears premature.
- Negotiations between Iran and Oman over the strait have progressed "fitfully," leaving ships stranded by the conflict and world markets without the reassurance officials had hinted was imminent.
Why it matters: Trump publicly claimed a breakthrough was near and called off a major military strike on that basis; Iran's foreign minister now says no such breakthrough exists and that reopening hinges on a laundry list of U.S. concessions—from lifting the naval blockade and sanctions to paying war reparations—that go well beyond the strait itself.
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