"If our security is not guaranteed, no infrastructure will remain safe." Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, issued that warning Tuesday in a video released by state TV. He added: "In a region where we cannot sell oil, no one else will sell oil either." Qatar was shuttling messages between Washington and Tehran, but the two sides remained far apart on the Strait of Hormuz.
The Hormuz Standoff
Before the conflict, the strait carried a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas. Iran now maintains a blockade on commercial shipping, while the U.S. military maintains a counter-blockade of Iranian ports to stop Tehran from exporting oil. Fighting has eased in recent weeks, but Iran keeps targeting ships, and Washington is relying on economic pressure rather than new military action.
The Revolutionary Guard offered a blunt account of the waterway. Spokesperson Hossein Mohebi said: "Any vessel attempting to pass through sustains damage — either we strike it, or it hits a mine." Washington says oil is moving through the strait; Tehran says it's closed. Mohebi called the American claim false and said at least 125 vessels would pass daily if the strait were truly open.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi set out Iran's terms. They include a seven-day ceasefire across the Middle East, including Lebanon, where Hezbollah is fighting Israel after attacking in support of Tehran in March. Iran also wants its assets unfrozen, sanctions on its oil sector lifted, and the U.S. naval blockade ended. Under the proposal, a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait would begin. "Our conditions are clear," Araqchi wrote.
President Donald Trump rejected the plan Saturday. "They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they're losing so badly," he told reporters. On Monday, he denied reports from Axios and CNN, citing unidentified U.S. officials, that he would offer sanctions relief and free Iranian funds in return for "concrete progress" on the nuclear issue. "I offered them NOTHING," he wrote on Truth Social.
Diplomatic Dead End
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told CBS that Tehran was ready to talk but wouldn't accept "bullying or coercion." He said Iran had agreed "we're not supposed to develop nuclear weapons." Iran denies seeking a bomb. Still, Iranian lawmakers have threatened to consider leaving the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and deputy parliament speaker Ali Nikzad reportedly renewed that threat Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow wouldn't want Iran to withdraw.
Qatar's Majed al-Ansari said mediation is ongoing, with current efforts focused on "building common ground." He also said Iran needs to "take a very clear position of non-aggression toward their neighbors." That's no small demand. Iran struck U.S. allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles, while its Houthi allies hit Saudi interests, routed forces of the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and threatened Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea.
The Guard also addressed American politics. At a Tehran news conference titled "A letter to the American people," Mohebi urged Americans to protest Trump's policies before the Nov. 3 midterms. He said the war could end only if Washington admitted defeat and left.
The costs are showing. Brent crude rose 1.4% to $106.77 a barrel. Iran's rial hit a record low, as traders exchanged more than 2.5 million rials for a dollar.
Gaza: Rearming Claims and a Commander's Death
Israel said it killed Izz al-Din Al-Beik in an airstrike Tuesday. Reuters described him as head of Hamas' armed wing in northern Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had been involved in planning attacks and recruiting militants. Hamas confirmed his death.
Medics said the strike hit an apartment building in Gaza City's Nasr neighbourhood around dawn. Shifa Hospital officials said two people died, including the commander, and five were wounded.
Israel says Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of the October ceasefire. The Israeli military said it killed at least 20 Hamas figures this month, including senior commanders, participants in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and people who held Israeli hostages. Hamas denies trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal.
Gaza health officials say at least 1,400 Palestinians have died since the truce took effect. The ministry doesn't distinguish civilians from militants and says women and children make up around half of the dead. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed. Talks on reconstruction have stalled because the parties haven't agreed on terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw.
Why This Matters: Iran's threat to hit regional infrastructure takes the Hormuz dispute beyond one waterway. Gulf energy facilities, already under Iranian fire, are back in the frame. Tehran is pairing talks with coercion as its allies stay active: Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis near Saudi oil routes and Hamas in Gaza, where Israel says the group is rearming. The unresolved question of Hamas disarmament leaves the Gaza ceasefire without an enforcement mechanism. Oil stood at $106.77 a barrel.