Strait Of Hormuz Crisis: Iran Demands US Compensation Before Reopening Key Waterway

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has declared that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States meets a series of demands, including compensation for damages allegedly caused by the war.

The strategic waterway, one of the world’s most important routes for the transportation of oil and other commodities, has remained effectively blocked since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran in late February.

The latest position from Tehran could further heighten tensions in the region and deepen concerns over global energy supplies and commercial shipping.

Iran has also demanded payments from vessels seeking to transit the waterway and has reportedly targeted ships it accused of attempting to bypass routes preferred by Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said discussions with Oman on the management and transit arrangements for the strait were approaching completion.

He, however, stressed that reopening the waterway would depend on additional conditions, including compensation.

Araghchi said reopening the strait “is subject to other conditions and compensation for the violation” of a June agreement.

The foreign minister also denied that Iran was engaged in direct negotiations with Washington, saying the two countries were instead “exchanging messages” through intermediaries.

Iran’s security chief, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, had earlier outlined several conditions that Tehran wants fulfilled before the waterway can be reopened.

Among them is an end to what Iran described as the “war and aggression” against the country and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq.

Tehran is also demanding that Washington lift what it calls a counterblockade of Iranian ports, remove sanctions, release frozen Iranian assets and provide compensation for damage allegedly caused during the conflict.

The demands were reported by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

The Revolutionary Guards subsequently reinforced the position, saying the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until Tehran’s demands were accepted.

“Our strategy is to maintain the closure until the enemy accepts all our conditions,” the Guards said, describing the strait as a “theatre of war” rather than simply a waterway.

Shipping Disruptions Continue

The ongoing disruption has significantly reduced maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, with Iranian forces reportedly targeting vessels they accuse of attempting to use routes other than those approved by Tehran.

The waterway is considered critical to the global economy because a substantial portion of the world’s oil supply passes through it.

The crisis has also continued to disrupt commercial shipping in the wider region.

UAE Condemns Attack on Tanker

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned what it described as a “hostile Iranian attack” on a tanker belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company while the vessel was travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the UAE, the tanker was struck by a missile, although no casualties were reported.

Later on Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that another vessel had been hit by a projectile off Oman in the Strait of Hormuz.

The incident reportedly caused a fire, which was later extinguished. No casualties were recorded.

It was not immediately established whether the vessel reported by the UK maritime authorities was the same tanker referenced by the UAE.

Oman also condemned continued attacks on vessels navigating the strategic waterway, describing them as “repeated attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz” without directly naming Iran.

The Omani Foreign Ministry said negotiations over future navigation arrangements in the strait were continuing in a positive and constructive atmosphere.

It urged all parties to avoid actions that could undermine the discussions.

A previous Iran-US agreement, intended to provide a framework for broader peace negotiations, stated that Tehran and Muscat would discuss future arrangements for the strait with other Gulf countries in accordance with applicable international law.

International maritime law generally restricts the imposition of tolls on vessels exercising transit passage through international straits.

Houthis Claim Attack on Saudi Oil Facility

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement claimed on Sunday that it had attacked a Saudi oil facility along the country’s Red Sea coast.

The claim came after Saudi authorities reported that they had extinguished a fire at the facility.

The incident raised fresh concerns that the wider conflict could spill over into another major international shipping corridor.

The Houthis have previously targeted commercial vessels in and around the Red Sea as part of their efforts to disrupt shipping through another strategically important maritime route.

Turkey Eyes Expanded Defence Alliance

In another development linked to the broader regional security situation, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, said he expected Egypt to eventually join a defence arrangement involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Fidan described Egypt as a “natural partner on all issues” and suggested that Cairo could become part of the alliance at a later stage.

“I believe that at the next stage Egypt will also be among us in the alliance. We already act toward one another as if we were alliance members,” he said in an interview.

The development follows a drone attack on US assets at an Egyptian Mediterranean port last month.

The incident was reportedly the first drone attack on Egyptian territory since the outbreak of the Iran war.

Fidan, however, stressed that the defence arrangement was not targeted at any particular country.

“There is no common threat that we have put in writing,” he said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the agreement provides that an attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all.

It described the pact as an arrangement “intended to strengthen collective deterrence” as the participating countries seek to enhance regional security.