Iran Insists US Must Meet Stringent List Of Demands Before Hormuz Opens

As expected, Iran is pressing hard to extract from Washington everything it can get - at a moment the Trump White House seems to be backing down from a heighted war over the Strait of Hormuz, given the serious risk of settling into a another years-long quagmire in the Middle East.

The US administration, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, has appeared to back the Iran-Oman deal for the opening of the Strait, with President Trump and his officials having remained surprisingly quiet even as it has emerged that the deal outline is wholly favorable to Tehran's conditions.

For example, as we've detailed Iran announced Friday that under the 'finalized' Oman-Iran scheme and 'deal' for management of the Hormuz Strait that "enemy countries" (read: US and Israel) may only transit the waterway after lifting sanctions and paying compensation for the war. US and Israeli-linked ships are currently banned and will be fired upon, Iran has warned.

The White House stayed mum even after that, and didn't openly push back - nor did Trump fire off any angry Truth Social messages, but focused on some random domestic issues Friday. This even as there was a Friday story in Reuters saying that Washington even plans to lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports once the Oman deal is finalized:

"There ​is progress between Oman ​and Iran on the Strait, and ‌we ⁠expect a deal soon," the official said. "Once the deal is announced to restore commercial ​shipping ​without ⁠impediments, the United States will lift the blockade ​of Iranian ports."

And now the Iranians are piling on the demands even more, with on Saturday the NY Times reporting on the country's top Iranian national security official's remarks. The security chief has laid out a list of demands and stern set of further conditions.

"Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, issued a statement carried by state media laying out multiple requirements for reopening the strait," reports the Times.

"He called for the United States to lift its naval blockade and sanctions on Iran, withdraw the U.S. military from around Iran, pay war reparations and release frozen Iranian assets, as well as end attacks on Iran's allies in the region and threats against the country,"

While other Iranian officials have voiced similar demands, this could represent the ascendancy of the Islamic Republic's so-called hardline faction within the context of the Oman negotiations. Zolghadr stated "These are the demands of the Iranian people who have been shouting for it relentlessly in the squares and streets for one hundred and sixty days."

Iran state media has listed them out as follows (machine translation):

1. Never threaten Iran with any language or insult the sanctities of this nation.

2. End the war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq forever.

3. Lift the naval blockade and withdraw its military forces (naval and air) from around Iran.

4. Pay the damages of the two wars of aggression and imposition on Iran without any reduction or reduction.

5. Lift the cruel and illegal sanctions against the Iranian nation.

6. Unconditionally release the frozen and stolen assets of the Iranian people.

The NY Times says there's been no immediate response from the White House when it requested comment; however, it must be remembered that the US was slapping yet more sanctions on Iran within only the last several days.

While the dropping of sanctions seems realistic as part of a deal to end the war, getting the Trump administration to agree to pay compensation for the many billions of dollars in damage done is a very tall ask. But the Iranians no doubt now smell weakness and blood in the water, as the US bombs have fallen silent for over a week at this point, and after Trump reversed course (more TACO) last weekend on the planned 'harder' strikes.

Bessent strongly suggested in an interview published Friday that the Hormuz Strait's reopening was imminent, delivered by a deal that would be finalized 'today or tomorrow'. 

And yet, the Times underscores that:

Even before Mr. Zolghadr’s statement, Iranian officials had hinted on Saturday that the reopening of the strait was not imminent. Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said that reopening the strait was “not contingent on the Iran-Oman negotiations.”

Iran is in essence saying this ain't over & wants to extract its pound of flesh, also to ensure it is never attacked again...

Trump is not going to be able to walk away from his Iran war at his own choosing. He still has no idea the world of shit he’s in, unfortunately we’re all in. https://t.co/Gdd4FTpIDW

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 8, 2026

Additionally, on Saturday Iran's army spokesman Amir Akraminia has been quoted by Al Jazeera as saying Iran's new protocols in the Strait of Hormuz are "irreversible" and shall not be thwarted by the US. "The United States has no choice but to accept the existing situation; otherwise, it will incur costs far greater than those it has faced in the past," Akraminia said.

In perhaps a good cop, bad cop approach to Washington, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has meanwhile issued a more balanced, less maximalist statement. He expressed that "the war must end at some point, and that his country is determined to adopt the memorandum of understanding as a basis, provided the US abandons the atmosphere of distrust it has created."