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President Donald Trump on Monday responded to Iran’s demand for the U.S. to meet certain conditions in order for the Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened by turning the call for compensation back on the country.
Rejecting the stipulations, Trump said he had instructed his representatives to demand compensation “for all of the people” that Iran has “killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts.”
Additionally, he went on to say “compensation should be paid to the families” of protesters killed in Iran, referencing the Islamic Republic regime’s use of lethal force.
Trump’s remarks came after Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, the outgoing secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, on Saturday listed six demands that the U.S. would need to meet before Tehran will allow the free-flow of naval navigation in the trade passage.
“Until America corrects its behavior, the Strait of Hormuz will not open,” Zolqadr declared, in a statement carried by state media.
The conditions were as follows:
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Never threaten Iran with any language or insult the sanctities of this nation.
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End the war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq forever.
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Lift the naval blockade and withdraw its military forces (naval and air) from around Iran.
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Pay the damages of the two wars of aggression and imposition on Iran without any reduction or reduction.
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Lift the cruel and illegal sanctions against the Iranian nation.
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Unconditionally release the frozen and stolen assets of the Iranian people.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday said an agreement with Oman to define new shipping routes through the Strait was in its “final stages,” but re-emphasized Tehran’s call for the U.S. to meet certain conditions.
“This does not mean that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” said Araghchi of the progress regarding a new shipping route, insisting it remains “contingent on the fulfillment of other conditions, which have been conveyed to the American side through intermediaries.”
Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also reiterated several of Tehran’s demands, such as the removal of the U.S. blockade and compensation for Iran, during a press briefing Monday.
“The U.S. government continues to proudly announce that it is besieging Iranian ports and harassing Iranian ships. In this situation, the United States has no moral or legal standing to complain about the Strait of Hormuz not being open. In short, you reap what you sow,” he said, in televised remarks carried by state media.
Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who served under Trump from 2019 to 2020, has referred to Iran’s conditions as “frankly ridiculous.”
“It shows that they believe that they have the upper hand, they believe they are winning, and they are emboldened, and that’s what we’re up against right now after five-and-a-half months of conflict,” he said during an appearance on ABC News’ This Week.
What is the status of U.S.-Iran talks?
The back-and-forth over demands and compensation has further tarnished hope for a new deal to be agreed upon.
Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities, tells TIME that these demands are the equivalent of “Iran shooting [for] the moon.”
“They’re going big and asking for everything they could possibly want. I don’t expect that they think they’re going to get all of these demands,” she says.
Kelanic reasons that Iranian leadership may be factoring in Trump’s domestic situation regarding the upcoming November midterms, making them all the more aware of the leverage they have as polls show Americans as feeling uneasy over the conflict and its financial ramifications.
Not to mention the fact lawmakers have criticized the resumption of hostilities, and some Republican Senators have joined Democrats in attempts to limit Trump’s ability to continue the Iran war without congressional authorization.
Iran understands its “power to coerce Trump is higher before the midterms than it is after the midterms,” says Kelanic. “They’re trying to maximize their benefit in the short term, and in a way that it’s still plausible that Trump could get some benefit from making a deal with them in terms of oil prices going down and staying low.”
Kelanic suggests that by going to Trump with some unattainable demands, Iran may be hoping to land some of their more “achievable” ones.
“In terms of reparations [compensation], that’s almost impossible. Sanctions lifting that’s a possibility. Unfreezing assets, that’s a possibility,” she says, taking note of Tehran’s six demands.
Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday said Washington is “low-keying it” with Tehran. “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” he told Axios, arguing that Iran “is in very bad shape” economically because of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports.
The U.S. and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 17, which outlined commitments aimed to ensure the full, toll-free reopening of the Strait as part of the terms for an extended 60-day cease-fire to allow time for technical talks to take place. But the respite after the signing was short-lived, with Washington and Tehran seemingly adopting different interpretations of the language used in the interim agreement.
The tussle over the Strait reignited, with Trump declaring the cease-fire as “over” while at the NATO summit in Turkey on July 8. Days of consecutive tit-for-tat strikes marked a resumption of the war that has stretched on for over five months. When the cease-fire collapsed, the U.S. reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that as of Aug. 9, it has redirected 55 commercial vessels, disabled two, and boarded two “to ensure compliance.”
Before Iran’s conditions landed, Vice President J.D. Vance was asked Saturday whether Tehran maintaining a tighter grip over the Strait would be an acceptable status quo. “Our expectation is you’re going to see the same amount of oil and gas come out of the Gulf that you saw before the conflict started,” Vance said. “That is what the Iranians have told us that they are going to do. That’s what the entire Gulf coalition wants to do, as well.”
However, Vance acknowledged that control of the Strait remains an unresolved issue.
“We’re in the middle of the game, and we’re applying a whole host of tools—diplomatic, economic, military tools—to ensure that we get the best outcome for the American people,” he said.
Kelanic suggests the stalemate, of sorts, remains when it comes to the waterway.
“Iran can’t completely close the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. can’t completely open it,” she tells TIME. “The U.S. is using its military power to get some oil through, but not all of the oil to replace what was lost through the Strait.”
According to a report by Kpler, a commodities data and analytics firm, since the resumption of the Iran war, an average of 13 vessels per day are crossing the Strait.
Prior to the Iran war starting on Feb. 28, 138 vessels typically passed through the vital trade waterway during a 24-hour period.
This pressure on global oil markets could eventually lead to a willingness from the Trump Administration to “give in to some of” Iran’s demands, Kelanic says, just not necessarily the six issued over the weekend.
