Strait of Hormuz remains at centre of growing standoff. Iran now made its position clear: the Islamabad MoU must be honoured before the strategic waterway can reopen, putting fresh pressure on Washington and adding another twist to the tense US-Iran dispute.
Tehran linked reopening of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz to US fulfilling its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, adding another major hurdle to efforts aimed at ending the conflict.
Yadollah Javani, political deputy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said the war must end in accordance with the Islamabad memorandum and that the Strait of Hormuz would only be reopened once Washington fulfills its obligations under the agreement.
Speaking to the Young Journalists Club, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s state broadcaster, Javani said the arrangements governing the Strait of Hormuz would not simply return to the pre-war situation.
He accused the United States, Israel and their allies of spending months trying to take control of the strategic waterway away from Iran, but claimed they had failed to achieve that objective.
Javani also addressed ongoing discussions between Iran and Oman over a possible maritime passage. He stressed that any such arrangement would apply only after the war has completely and finally ended, rather than serving as an immediate replacement for the current situation in Hormuz.
The latest Iranian position comes as the 60-day period associated with the Islamabad memorandum has expired without a final resolution. Tehran says Washington breached the understanding, while negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz and other issues remain stalled.
Hormuz remains world’s key energy chokepoints. Before the war, roughly a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed through the waterway, making prolonged disruption a major risk for global energy markets and international shipping.
With Tehran now explicitly tying the reopening of Hormuz to US compliance with the Islamabad agreement, the strategic waterway has once again emerged as a major pressure point in the wider US-Iran confrontation.
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