What are Iran’s seven conditions for reopening the Strait Of Hormuz? Here’s the full list
Iran says it won’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that once carried about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, until the United States meets seven conditions. Here they are:
A full ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon
Not just in the Persian Gulf. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi specifically named Lebanon as a front where fighting must also stop from day one. It’s unclear whether this extends to the separate, ongoing fighting between Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi Arabia.
An end to the US naval blockade
The US would have to lift its blockade of Iranian ports and islands around Hormuz and stop intercepting Iranian tankers. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described it on October 4 as “a complete end to disruption of Iran’s commercial navigation.”
An oil sanctions waiver
Washington would need to issue a licence allowing Iran to legally sell and ship oil again.
Release of frozen Iranian assets, at least $12 billion
Iranian officials have framed this specifically as a trust-building and humanitarian measure, not as payment for talks.
Cancellation of sanctions imposed since June
This covers the additional sanctions the US placed on Iranian shipping, petrochemicals, airlines, rail and banking after the original Islamabad agreement broke down. Baghaei called for “lifting all recent unilateral sanctions.”
A stop to strikes and military intervention
An end to air and naval strikes, with a guarantee against new attacks during implementation. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iran would judge this by “actual behaviour, not daily statements or tweets.”
Acceptance of the Iran-Oman safe navigation route
The US would need to accept a safe-shipping-lane mechanism agreed between Iran and Oman, the two states bordering the strait, as the basis for managing traffic, rather than a US-led naval escort operation.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary, Mohsen Rezaei, has summarised the first cluster of these more simply as three core demands: end the war on all fronts, free the assets, and end the maritime blockade.
Why these seven, and not something new
Every one of these conditions, Iranian officials insist, was already agreed to once. The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Iran and the US on June 17 after Pakistan and Qatar mediated months of war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, was a 14-point agreement that established a brief ceasefire, created a 60-day window for a final peace deal, and linked two issues together: security in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme. Under that deal, Iran agreed to facilitate safe passage of commercial vessels through the strait without charging tolls.
The agreement collapsed within weeks. Iran says the US never lifted its naval blockade or eased oil sanctions and kept carrying out strikes. The US says Iran kept attacking ships that didn’t follow its authorisation rules. President Trump declared the deal “over” in July.
That history is why Iran’s current position, voiced by President Masoud Pezeshkian directly to Al Jazeera, is framed as a request for nothing new: “We want nothing new. Just go back to that MoU and stick to it.” The only real change in the current proposal is speed: what was a 60-day window in June has been compressed into seven days.
How the seven days would actually work, if accepted
According to Araghchi, the sequence would begin with Washington’s acceptance, communicated through Qatar, after which the clock starts. The following days run in parallel: the US would announce a ceasefire, stand down its blockade forces, issue the oil waiver, and order the release of frozen funds, while Iranian and Omani technical teams spend four to five days clearing hazards, restoring vessel-traffic systems, and notifying shippers and insurers.
Reopening would follow, with normal maritime passage restored, and talks on a final deal, including the nuclear programme, would begin shortly after.
The sequencing is deliberate and is the actual sticking point. Iran wants Hormuz reopened first and nuclear talks second, arguing that nuclear negotiations can’t happen under blockade and bombing. Washington’s public position, from UN Ambassador Mike Waltz and a White House official, is closer to the reverse: relief is possible, but only after “concrete progress” on the nuclear issue first.
