Tehran ties full reopening to enforcement of Islamabad MoU, Yemen blockade, and security guarantees — even as new Oman shipping route takes shape
By 247ureports Staff
Iran has again ruled out fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz until the United States meets a broad set of conditions, even as Tehran and Muscat move ahead on a temporary shipping corridor through the strategic waterway.
The core message
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said this week that Tehran’s demands go well beyond a lift of the US naval blockade. In a televised interview reported by Iranian state media, Gharibabadi said Washington must fully implement the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) — including ending what Iran calls an economic blockade, securing a durable halt to military operations, and dropping threats of further attacks on Iranian territory.
He also linked reopening to the situation in Yemen, saying Tehran wants the US to address the blockade affecting the country and provide assurances against renewed military action.
Separately, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi struck a similar note, saying Iran stands ready to reopen the strait within the terms of the existing agreement if the US halts what Tehran describes as interference and honors its commitments — but warned the waterway “will not be opened under any circumstances” if Washington rejects Iran’s conditions.
A route, but not a reopening
The renewed hard line comes just days after Iran and Oman announced they had agreed on a temporary maritime corridor through Hormuz — the clearest sign yet of technical progress on the file. Gharibabadi described the arrangement as a round-trip route roughly seven miles wide, with inbound traffic passing through Iranian waters and part of the outbound route running through Omani waters. Only commercial vessels would be permitted; military ships remain barred.
But Gharibabadi was explicit that the Oman arrangement is not the same as reopening the strait. He said the understanding with Muscat does not amount to lifting Iran’s closure, adding bluntly that the waterway “will not open tomorrow.” He went further, stating that militarily, the strait remains closed. The two countries are expected to negotiate a permanent traffic system within the next 30 to 60 days.
Background: the Islamabad MoU
The Islamabad Memorandum, signed June 17, 2026, was meant to de-escalate the broader US-Israel-Iran conflict that began after February strikes on Tehran, and included a commitment from Iran to facilitate safe, cost-free passage of commercial shipping through Hormuz for 60 days. That window lapsed in mid-August with neither Washington nor Tehran willing to extend it, and traffic through the strait — normally carrying about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and gas — has remained severely disrupted since.
Iran has accused the US and Oman of violating the MoU by establishing an alternate “southern route” hugging the Omani coast without Iranian sign-off, and has said responsibility for demining the strait rests solely with Tehran under the agreement’s terms.
What’s next
Gharibabadi has said circumstances have shifted enough that renewed negotiations with Washington are conceivable, though Iran maintains it is not currently in direct talks with the US over the strait specifically. For now, the message from Tehran is consistent: technical progress with Oman notwithstanding, the strait stays closed until Washington delivers on the political and military commitments Iran says it made in June.
