Iran reiterated Sunday that it is not holding direct negotiations with the U.S. and that it would not restart diplomatic talks until Washington agrees to certain conditions and stops violating the terms of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Tehran that Tehran is passing messages through intermediary countries, likely Pakistan and Qatar, but indicated that the conversations are far from direct negotiations.
He added that Iran’s separate discussions with Oman over control of the Strait of Hormuz are in “final stages” but warned that any agreement reached between the two nations would not automatically reopen the waterway, which has remained closed to commercial shipping for weeks.
Iran and Oman have held direct negotiations over management of the strait for weeks after the signing of the now-defunct Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding in July. According to reports, the incoming deal would outline specific routes that commercial ships would be required to take to transit the waterway safely.
In some reports, ships entering the strait would pass through Iranian waters and leave through Omani-controlled routes.
Mr. Araghchi confirmed that while the deal would outline new shipping lanes in the strait, it would be effectively meaningless without the removal of the U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports and a ceasefire.
Iran has kept the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed for months after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes in late February. At least one-fifth of the world’s oil supply travels through the strait each year, and its closure has driven up global energy prices.
Brent crude oil, the standard international trading classification, stood at about $82 a barrel on Friday, down from $101 a barrel in July but still above pre-war levels.
After nearly two weeks of continuous fighting, the U.S. and Iran returned to a state of relative peace last week after President Trump called off yet another attack on Iranian targets.
Mr. Trump called off the attack after fielding calls from regional leaders and reportedly noting positive progress in peace talks.
Mr. Trump and other administration officials said last week that a deal to reopen the strait is imminent while offering few details on what the deal would include. The extent of Washington’s involvement in the Iran-Oman talks over the strait remains unclear.
On Saturday, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr laid out Iran’s conditions for reopening the strait: a ceasefire for the entire region, the removal of the U.S. naval blockade, war damage compensation, the unfreezing of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets, and sanctions relief.
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The now-defunct memorandum of understanding included provisions that mentioned all of Iran’s current demands. That deal ultimately broke down in July after Iran struck commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which it said had violated the terms of the agreement.
Even under the memorandum, issues such as sanctions relief and the unfreezing of assets were tied to a theoretical future deal with the U.S. and would have likely come with further conditions themselves.
The demands signal further diplomatic challenges for the U.S. as Mr. Trump seeks a comprehensive agreement that could end the war and reopen the strait. The president has insisted that diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran have been more productive in recent days.
Mr. Trump, who took the U.S. to war in February promising to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program and foster regime change in the country, has repeatedly said there will be no agreement unless Tehran halts its enrichment of uranium and reopens the Strait of Hormuz.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump told Axios that the U.S. is only “semi-negotiating” with Iran and indicated that he was willing to let the economic consequences of the war and naval blockade force Tehran to the negotiating table instead of launching more military strikes.
But domestic political concerns could lead Mr. Trump to eventually authorize more strikes, as his domestic political opponents point to high gas prices and a shrinking stockpile of munitions.
Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, said Sunday he would support a “bad deal” to end the U.S. war against Iran because Americans are suffering from the conflict and the price to reopen the Strait of Hormuz “increases by the day.”
“Donald Trump has lost this war. America is weaker. Iran is stronger,” Mr. Murphy told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Yes, I will support a deal to end this war and reopen the strait,” Mr. Murphy said. “I am prepared to support a bad deal, to end this war and reopen the strait, because the only deal that is available, at this point in time, is a terrible bad deal.”
Regional challenges could also stymie efforts to reach a comprehensive deal to end the war.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have recently ramped up their attacks on Saudi Arabia, the group’s longtime regional rival. In addition to strikes on commercial ships in the Red Sea, the group has also targeted civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis on Sunday announced that they had targeted the Saudi Aramco refinery in the southern city of Jazan, causing significant damage. There was no immediate comment from the Saudi government and the strike itself has not been independently verified.
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