A Hormuz deal was close. Now Iran says direct talks with U.S. are off

Iran has ruled out direct U.S. talks as demands mount and a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz hits more obstacles. Photo by Elke Scholiers /Getty Images

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The wait for an Iranian deal with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz dragged on, as the Islamic Republic’s top envoy ruled out direct talks with the U.S. for now.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has said a pact to establish a temporary shipping route through the global energy chokepoint was “very close,” on Sunday criticized what he described as U.S. violations of a short-lived interim peace agreement signed in June.

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“As long as the American violation of the Memorandum of Understanding continues and the U.S. does not make amends for its violations, there is no possibility of resuming negotiations,” Araghchi was cited as saying by state TV.

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Tehran on Saturday upped the ante by renewing a hefty list of demands for Washington as conditions for a full reopening of Hormuz, indicating any immediate respite for oil and gas supplies may be limited.

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The status of the Strait of Hormuz has become a key factor in the conflict the U.S. and Israel launched on Iran in late February, and it’s unclear how Washington will respond to any agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded the resumption of open navigation for months, regularly threatening fresh attacks on Iran if it fails to reopen the waterway.

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With a deal elusive, the situation in the Middle East stayed volatile on Sunday. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed they’d struck Saudi Aramco’s Jizan oil refinery in the kingdom. Saudi authorities earlier reported a fire at the facility.

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U.S. Vice President JD Vance, the day before, suggested there’d been recent progress in negotiations, but it’s not clear if the final result will be satisfactory. The question is whether Iran will be able “to give the things that are necessary for us to be happy, for us to feel like we’ve gotten what we need out of this particular engagement,” he told Fox News.

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Washington has repeatedly suggested it’s part of negotiations over the management of Hormuz, which Iran disputes.

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“Some intermediary countries are trying to re-establish the ground for negotiations,” Araghchi was quoted as saying on Sunday. “At present, we are not negotiating with the U.S. — the exchange of messages is taking place through intermediaries.”

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Besides compensation, Tehran’s demands include that the U.S. lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports, withdraws military forces from around Iran, removes sanctions and releases frozen assets, according to Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a hardliner who heads the Supreme National Security Council.

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Traffic through the chokepoint has been largely blocked since the start of the war, but some ships have continued to ferry cargoes as part of a shuttle program involving U.S. military help.

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Oil prices swung between gains and losses last week, with Brent eventually settling above US$83 a barrel as traders weighed the prospects of a deal that’s expected to clear the way for the restoration of millions of barrels of supply from the Persian Gulf.