Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said yesterday that the strategic Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the United States meets Tehran’s demands, including lifting a naval blockade.

“I want to state clearly that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the American commitments stipulated in the memorandum of understanding... are implemented,” Ghalibaf said in a speech broadcast on state television.

He listed the removal of the blockade, the lifting of oil sanctions and unfreezing of Iran’s assets abroad among the demands, reports AFP.

In a post on Truth Social yesterday, US President Donald Trump said there were no conversations taking place with Iran, and none were scheduled, adding that the Strait of Hormuz was open.

He also posted a map on his Truth Social platform showing the Hormuz as “NEW US Territory.” Oil prices extended gains and Asian stocks mostly fell as the deal to end the war seemed further out of sight.

Meanwhile, a foreign ministry spokesperson of Qatar said mediators are waiting for Oman and Iran to reach a bilateral agreement on Hormuz before returning to broader US-Iran talks.

Yemen’s Houthis yesterday targeted an oil refinery on Saudi Arabia’s southern Red Sea coast, rebel media reported.

Eight Israeli airstrikes hit the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northwestern Syria early yesterday, targeting the runway and storage facilities, Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya said, citing a military source.

The United States said Israel was behind the Syria strikes, slamming them as an “unnecessary escalation.”