In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran draws its red lines
Forty days of war, more than sixty days of tense negotiations, and then a memorandum of understanding. Yet, the U.S. still has no easy solution
Forty days of war, more than sixty days of tense negotiations, and then a memorandum of understanding. Yet, the U.S. still has no easy solution to a problem that did not exist before it joined Israel in launching its war against Iran on February 28, 2026: who will manage the Strait of Hormuz? The strait, a critical energy and economic chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Oman, was open to international shipping before the war. That changed within days of the U.S. attack, when Iran asserted control over the waterway. Since then, Washington has tried a range of measures to restore free navigation — it bombed Iran’s naval assets; U.S. President Donald Trump issued repeated ultimatums, threatening to destroy Iran’s critical infrastructure. When he announced a ceasefire on April 8, he declared that the strait would reopen. In mid-April, he imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and later launched the short-lived Operation Project Freedom to protect commercial shipping transiting the strait. None of these measures persuaded Iran to restore free passage. After the MoU was signed between the U.S. and Iran on June 17, Mr. Trump again said Hormuz would be fully reopened for toll-free shipping. Iran did open a new route for passage, along its coastline, which it said would be safe. But this did not resolve the crisis. Last week, an oil tanker off Oman’s coast was attacked by Iranian drones, after which the U.S. carried out attacks on Iran.
Tehran retaliated, targeting U.S. bases in the region. While both sides agreed to halt tit-for-tat attacks, Iran has ruled out direct technical talks with the U.S., which were scheduled to continue this week, casting doubts on the implementation of the MoU. At the heart of the problem lies a simple question: who controls the Strait of Hormuz? What the MoU says Under Article 5 of the MoU, Iran has promised to “make arrangements” for the “safe passage of commercial vessels, with no charges for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa”. It says commercial traffic would immediately start and Iran would remove mines and other technical impediments for traffic within 30 days of signing the memorandum. The next line of the article holds enormous significance for the future of the strait. It says Iran will conduct talks with Oman “to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, in discussions with other Persian Gulf littoral states, in line with applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states”. The agreement doesn’t say passage would be free of charges in the future — that provision is applicable for only 60 days. It says Iran — not the U.S. — will hold talks with its neighbours to define the future status of the strait. In other words, Iran hasn’t given up its claims or control over the strait in the MoU.
The BriefWire