Iran holds firm on Hormuz conditions as Pakistan’s Naqvi visits Tehran

What the report says

Iran said it will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed unless the United States meets Tehran’s conditions, according to comments from the country’s newly appointed top security official, Mohsen Rezaei. Al Jazeera reported that Rezaei linked any reopening to an end to the US military campaign, the release of Iranian funds held abroad, and a broader regional ceasefire. The remarks came as Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, was in Tehran for talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The discussions in Tehran focused on closer political, economic, trade, cultural and security ties, while Pakistan also continued to play a mediating role in the wider conflict. Qatar said separately that talks involving Iran and Oman on shipping through the strait had advanced, though Iran said any such arrangement with Oman would not by itself reopen the waterway. Washington had not publicly responded at the time of the report.

The article also said tensions around Gulf and Red Sea shipping remained high. US Central Command said a US Navy helicopter disabled a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz after it allegedly ignored warnings tied to the blockade, while Yemen’s Transport Ministry reported a deadly attack on a vessel in the Bab al-Mandeb strait that it suspected was carried out by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement. The developments underscore how the conflict has widened across several regional waterways and increased risks to commercial shipping.