Iran has not decided whether to resume negotiations with the United States, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday, as disagreements over ceasefire violations and the future of the Strait of Hormuz continue.
Araghchi said Qatar and Pakistan were exchanging messages with Iran, but stressed that contact through mediators did not amount to negotiations. Iran is also working with Oman on a technical process for possible new shipping routes through the strait, though transit would depend on a political solution and other conditions set by the United States.
What Iran says must happen before talks
Araghchi said Iran blamed the United States for renewed violence after a memorandum of understanding was signed in Pakistan in June. He said any new effort to end the conflict would require a newly defined path out of the war.
The minister said existing routes through the Strait of Hormuz were no longer functional. Iran and Oman are designing a temporary route intended to become a final route later, but Araghchi said shipping traffic would resume only if the United States fulfilled unspecified conditions.
Related coverage: Trump says US will claim Strait of Hormuz after Iran war.
Hormuz becomes a separate point of dispute
The comments came after US President Trump said that, once the United States finished defeating Iran, he would declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory. Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, rejected that position, saying the strait was and would remain Iranian.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said Friday that one of its ships had come under attack while transiting the strait. The incident was described as the latest in a series of such events in recent weeks.
Washington signals more economic pressure
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington would soon impose new economic measures against Iran. He described the approach as a combination of severe economic isolation and a continued blockade of the strait that would prevent movement into or out of Iranian ports.
More context: Why Trump is relying on economic pressure against Iran.
In August, the United States announced measures targeting currency exchange houses and shell companies it said had helped Iran move hundreds of millions of dollars through the international financial system. The source report said the pressure follows years of US and international sanctions, while noting that previous economic crises and protests had not produced meaningful regime change.
Also read: Iran links Strait of Hormuz reopening to US concessions.
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