Iran sets conditions for Strait of Hormuz reopening, calls for U.S. to correct its behavior

Iran is attempting to make the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz conditional on the United States meeting a series of demands, raising fresh doubts about efforts to restore commercial shipping through one of the world’s most important energy corridors.Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said the waterway would remain closed until Washington “corrects its behavior.”
Some of the conditions reportedly included an end to U.S. sanctions, compensation for damage caused during the conflict and the withdrawal of American military forces from the region.
The demands came as negotiations involving Iran and Oman continued over a possible arrangement governing shipping through the strait. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran and Muscat were close to reaching an agreement on a new shipping route, but he stressed that an agreement with Oman alone would not have been enough to reopen the waterway.
Iran had also demanded the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to what it considered hostile U.S. military actions. Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials said the strait would have been reopened once Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions.
At the same time, tensions at sea intensified.
The United Arab Emirates said Saturday that Iran had launched a missile at a vessel affiliated with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or ADNOC, while the ship was traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. No injuries were reported in the incident.
ADNOC said more than a dozen of its vessels had been targeted by missiles or drones since the United States and Israel began their war against Iran in February. The company said one crew member had been killed and 20 others wounded in those attacks.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center separately reported that a vessel east of Khasab, Oman, had been struck by a projectile and caught fire. The blaze was extinguished, and the ship and its crew were reported safe. It was not immediately clear whether the vessel was the same ship identified by the UAE.

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