Iran's Revolutionary Guards say the Strait of Hormuz will stay shut until Washington meets fresh demands, even as Israel rejects Trump's 15-point Gaza plan.
The US-Iran war has entered a tense new phase. Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until Washington accepts its conditions in full. This comes days after President Donald Trump believed a breakthrough was close. The development matters because the strait carries a large share of the world’s oil, and any delay affects fuel prices in India and other importing nations.
Why did Trump think the Strait of Hormuz would reopen soon?
For weeks, Trump had prepared to declare victory in the US-Iran war if Tehran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz. He reportedly told senior aides he was even willing to walk away without securing a nuclear deal with Iran, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal published August 9, 2026.
Trump had repeatedly said in early August that an agreement was close. He told reporters a deal “could be soon.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also suggested an announcement was imminent.
That optimism did not hold. Iran raised its price for allowing free shipping through the waterway on August 8, seeking billions of dollars in compensation, a full American troop withdrawal from the region and an end to the naval blockade, the Journal reported.
What conditions has Iran set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz?
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, listed sweeping demands on August 8, 2026, according to Iranian state media. Tehran wants the US to:
- Lift the American naval blockade around Iranian waters
- End all sanctions on Iran
- Withdraw US military forces from the region
- Pay compensation for war damages
- Release frozen Iranian assets
- Stop strikes in Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq permanently
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, backed this stand. Its spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said the strait will open only when the US accepts Iran’s terms, as quoted by the semi official Tasnim news agency on August 9, 2026.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is not holding direct negotiations with Washington. “Efforts are under way to create grounds for negotiations,” he said, adding that messages are being exchanged only through intermediaries, Al Jazeera reported on August 9, 2026.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian struck a softer tone. He said “now is the best time for an agreement,” in remarks carried by state broadcaster IRIB.
An unnamed US official told Reuters that Washington would lift its blockade of Iranian ports once commercial shipping through Hormuz resumed without obstruction, a position that differs from Tehran’s sequencing.
How has the closure hit shipping and oil prices?
The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply. Its partial closure during the US-Iran war has repeatedly rattled energy markets.
Approximate movement in US average gasoline price during the conflict
Before strikes ███████████████ $3.05
Early August 2026 ████████████████████ $4.10
Fifteen vessels operated by Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC have come under attack since the war began, killing one crew member and injuring twenty others. A UAE oil tanker was hit again on August 8, according to a live update from Al Jazeera. Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.3 percent that week on the uncertainty.
Iran and Oman are separately in the final stages of a technical agreement on shipping routes through the strait. However, Tehran has stressed this Oman channel is unrelated to its political demands from Washington.
Is Israel also rejecting Trump’s peace efforts?
Yes. Hours after the Hormuz demands surfaced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza on August 9, 2026.
“Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting, insisting Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas is “genuinely disarmed.”
The Board of Peace, chaired by Trump and empowered under UN Security Council Resolution 2803, had proposed the roadmap on July 30. It called for phased Hamas disarmament alongside a staged Israeli withdrawal.
“We are talking about real disarmament, not fictitious disarmament,” Netanyahu said, according to Al Jazeera. Netanyahu faces a national election on October 27 and is under pressure from his right wing base.
What does this mean for India?
India imports a large share of its crude oil and gas through the Gulf region. Continued uncertainty in the US-Iran war keeps freight and insurance costs high for tankers using alternate routes. Indian refiners have been tracking the standoff closely, since sustained disruption could push domestic fuel prices higher and add pressure on the rupee through a wider trade deficit.
What happens next in the US-Iran war?
Iran’s 60 day window agreed under an earlier interim understanding with Washington is due to end within days. Officials on both sides say indirect contacts continue even though formal talks have not resumed.
For now, the Strait of Hormuz remains only partly open, energy markets stay on edge and the wider US-Iran war shows no sign of a quick resolution. Developments in Gaza add another layer of complexity to Washington’s regional diplomacy.