Iran said Sunday that a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages, but Tehran immediately attached sweeping conditions that go far beyond reopening a waterway it illegally blocked — demanding US compensation, the lifting of sanctions, and an end to what it calls "aggression" against its proxy network across the Middle East. The statement from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi underscored the Islamic Republic's strategy of using energy chokepoints as leverage while its allied militias escalate attacks from Yemen to the Red Sea.
Araghchi said the agreement between Iran and Oman was in the "final stages" and would set out new shipping lanes to be used once the United States fulfills a list of conditions. Iran's Mehr news agency quoted him as saying the strait would not reopen unless those conditions were met. The secretary of Iran's top national security body, Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, spelled out the demands: ending US threats against Iran, stopping what Tehran calls aggression against Iran and its Lebanese, Palestinian, Yemeni, and Iraqi allies, lifting a blockade and sanctions on Iran, and freeing Iranian assets.
The Strategic Chokepoint
The Strait of Hormuz carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before Iran blocked it in response to US and Israeli attacks. A US official told Reuters on Friday that an agreement between Iran and Oman was close and could soon reopen the waterway. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports." The official said US actions would be tied to Iran's implementation of its commitments.
The comments pointed to delicate sequencing toward a deal that sources told Reuters appeared to be set to give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the strait, something shippers said wasn't easily workable. Iran and the US aren't engaged in talks, and Tehran won't start them as long as Washington breaches an interim deal signed in June, Araghchi said, adding that messages are being exchanged via intermediaries. The United States began air strikes on Iran in late February, saying it aimed to ensure the Islamic republic couldn't acquire nuclear weapons or threaten the region with missiles or proxies. It agreed a ceasefire with Iran in June, but reimposed a blockade on Iranian shipping in the Gulf in July, which Tehran said was a violation of the truce that had already broken down.
Proxy Attacks Escalate
The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a ship affiliated to its state oil company. There was no immediate comment from Iran. Iranian strikes on Strait of Hormuz shipping have been coupled with increased attacks by its Yemen-based allies, the Houthis, who've targeted ships at another oil chokepoint on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis also declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month in response to what they said was a Saudi siege on them in Yemen, an allegation denied by Riyadh, which backs Yemen's internationally recognised government.
The Houthis said they'd attacked Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery on Sunday, two days after the kingdom signed a defense pact with Sunni Muslim allies Turkey and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability from the US-Israeli war on Shi'ite Iran. The Saudi energy ministry said a fire had broken out at the refinery but was later extinguished with no injuries, and authorities were dealing with the incident, without giving a cause. The Houthis used a drone to target the refinery, military spokesperson Yahya Saree posted on X. They'd struck Aramco sites before in Jazan, which processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day in southwestern Saudi Arabia, and Yanbu on the Red Sea. They also carried out strikes on the Yemeni Red Sea port of Mocha, according to three sources in the Aden-based government.
The Sunni Response
It wasn't clear whether or how either Pakistan or Turkey would join in any Saudi response to the latest attacks. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the new alliance wasn't directed against Iran or any other country, but rather served as a general pledge to support security. The allies would decide through consultations what degree, form, and format of support they'd ask for in the event of an attack, he said.
Why This Matters:
Iran's use of the Strait of Hormuz as a bargaining chip reveals the strategic vulnerability of global energy markets to a regime that funds and directs proxy militias across the Middle East. The Islamic Republic's conditions for reopening the waterway — including ending pressure on Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iraqi militias — show Tehran's determination to preserve its network of influence even as those proxies destabilize Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq. The Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, coordinated with Iran's blockade of the strait, demonstrate the reach of this proxy strategy. Saudi Arabia's new defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan signals a regional realignment driven by the failure of diplomacy to constrain Iranian aggression. The delicate sequencing of any Hormuz deal — with the US lifting its blockade only as Iran implements commitments — reflects the difficulty of trusting a regime that has repeatedly violated ceasefires and used energy chokepoints as weapons. For global markets dependent on Gulf oil and LNG, the lesson is clear: Iran's control over shipping lanes isn't a technical arrangement but a strategic concession with consequences that extend far beyond the waterway itself.