Iran will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until the United States meets seven conditions and guarantees Iranian interests, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Iranian state television on Saturday. Rezaei said each condition contains two or three further requirements, covering matters from finance to other issues in the conditions, and that Tehran was awaiting a final American response that could arrive as early as Sunday.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on 31 October that Tehran saw no need to meet American officials for now. He said Iran's conditions include lifting sanctions imposed after the Islamabad memorandum, reducing US forces in the region, restoring oil export exemptions and releasing frozen Iranian funds, including money held in Qatar. Tehran also wants recognition of shipping routes through the strait discussed with Oman, and the closure of other routes.

A proposal, not an agreement

The two-day reopening plan discussed with Qatari mediators remains conditional: it would only begin if Washington accepts Tehran's terms, and Washington has previously rejected joint Iranian-Omani management of the waterway, insisting on free passage under international law. US President Donald Trump has said negotiations are going fine but that he is not rushing to reach an agreement. Until a response arrives, the strait — through which a large share of the world's oil trade passes — remains at the centre of the regional confrontation.