Iran Says Only Way to Reopen Hormuz Is to "End US Military Interference"

Tehran defies US demands to fully reopen the strait as both sides dig in over who controls the waterway carrying a fifth of the world's oil 

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to shipping until the United States ends what it calls its "illegal" interference in the region, defying pressure from Washington to fully reopen the strategic waterway. "The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until further notice and until the end of US intervention in the region. No ship will be permitted to transit the waterway", the IRGC Navy said in a statement. 
Iran officials have told state that the US military has been trying to create an "illegal route" through the strait, which they say has caused insecurity in the area. Tehran maintains that only routes it approves should be used during transit through the waterway, and says it is open to jointly managing the strait solely with Oman, the other coastal state along the passage. 
 

A Dispute Over Control, Not Just Access 

The standoff centers less on whether the strait is technically open and more on who controls it. The US and Gulf Cooperation Council countries have rejected Iran's claims of authority over the waterway and are demanding the navigation be freed of any interference or fees. Senior US officials say Washington is demanding Iran publicly state that all channels of the strait are open and that ships are no longer being fired upon, something Tehran has so far refused to do.
Underlying the dispute is the memorandum of understanding the US and Iran signed on June 17, which committed Iran to allowing ships to pass without charge, but only for 60 days, while leaving the strait's longer-term administration to be worked out between Iran and Oman in consultation with other Gulf states. Analysts note the deal never actually resolved who would manage ship traffic through the strait, it simply postponed the question.

Diplomacy Continues Alongside the Standoff

Even as the rhetoric hardens, diplomatic contacts have continued. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Oman over the weekend, where he and Omani officials discussed shipping and the future management of the strait, according to Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Oman said the two sides agreed to continue talks "at the technical and political levels." Sources have told CNN that Oman has drafted a proposal to manage traffic in the strait through two separately controlled routes, an arrangement some analysts have compared to a Solomon-like compromise between Iran's demand for control and the US insistence on unimpeded navigation.

Why Iran Is Digging In

Analysts note Iran has strong incentives to retain leverage over the strait, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply typically flows. By closing the waterway, Tehran has demonstrated an ability to deter the world's most powerful military; by monetizing it through tolls or fees, Iranian officials reportedly believe they could generate as much as $40 billion a year, comparable to the country's recent annual oil export revenue. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected the idea of Iran charging fees for passage, warning it would set a dangerous precedent for other global shipping chokepoints.

Rising Economic Costs

The impasse has already pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude rising more than 4 percent over the past week and hovering just under $76 a barrel, though still well below the roughly $122 per barrel wartime highs seen earlier in the conflict. The US has reinstated oil sanctions on Iran in response to the tanker attacks, a move Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called a "material breach" of the June memorandum, holding Washington "fully responsible for the consequences arising from this breach of commitment."
President Trump has separately threatened to reimpose a US naval blockade on Iran, an option analysts say could remove roughly 1.5 million barrels per day of Iranian exports from the market and push prices still higher if implemented.

Where Things Stand

According to David Goldwyn, a former US State Department special envoy for international energy affairs, the situation has effectively reverted to the standoff that existed before the memorandum of understanding was signed: Iran threatening any non-approved traffic through the strait, and the US unable to fully reopen it to free navigation through military means alone. That leaves Washington, in Goldwyn's assessment, with two unpalatable options, a full naval blockade, or continued limited strikes on Iran in response to further violations.
Whether the Oman-brokered two-corridor proposal can bridge the gap between Iran's demand for control and the US-GCC insistence on unimpeded navigation remains the central open question, with both sides showing little sign of backing down as the standoff continues into its second week.