Strait of Hormuz standoff: What Iran, US want and what it takes to reopen waterway

Iran says Hormuz will reopen only after US accepts its demands, while Washington seeks unrestricted commercial shipping. (Donald Trump, Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian) Iran has made clear that a deal with Oman on a new shipping arrangement for the Strait of Hormuz will not, by itself, reopen the strategic waterway. Tehran says the strait will reopen only after the United States accepts a broader set of Iranian conditions, while Washington has indicated that it is prepared to lift its blockade of Iranian ports once commercial shipping resumes without impediments.The competing positions have emerged as Iran and Oman move closer to an agreement on a new shipping protocol for the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but critical maritime route through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas shipments passed before the conflict.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran and Muscat were "very close" to an agreement on a new arrangement for shipping through the strait. However, he made clear that the agreement with Oman would not be sufficient on its own to reopen the waterway.The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also rejected suggestions that the reopening of the strait is ...