Hormuz Stays Shut as Iran Holds Firm on Terms
The Strait of Hormuz remained closed on Sunday with no deal signed between the United States and Iran, as Tehran repeated that it would not reopen the waterway until Washington “corrects its behaviour”. Iran said an arrangement with Oman to coordinate shipping was close but stressed that was not the same as reopening the strait. The United States said it still expected a deal.
The impasse has kept the world’s most important oil chokepoint shut for weeks, with only a trickle of vessels passing and crude prices elevated. Iran’s list of demands — an end to the war, the lifting of the US blockade and sanctions, and compensation — amounts to a call for an American climbdown that Washington will not make. Attacks on tankers, most recently a UAE vessel, have added to the danger, though the details of the latest incident remained unclear. With both sides dug in, the diplomacy is stuck. Watch whether the Oman arrangement is signed or the blockade hardens further.