Tehran said the Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war conditions as U.S.-Iran negotiations move into working groups on sanctions, nuclear issues and regional security.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Iran said Tuesday it intends to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, raising a central obstacle in negotiations with the United States over a broader settlement aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.
The statement came after U.S. and Iranian negotiators completed talks in Switzerland that Vice President JD Vance described as a “very good foundation” for a final deal. The discussions produced a framework for continued negotiations, including working groups on sanctions and nuclear issues, but left unresolved some of the most difficult questions between Washington and Tehran.
Hormuz remains one of the most sensitive issues. The narrow waterway is a major route for global oil shipments, and its status has been a key point of tension since the conflict disrupted energy markets and regional security.
President Donald Trump has demanded that the strait be reopened unconditionally to marine traffic. Iran, however, rejected any return to the arrangement that existed before the war.
“The Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-war conditions and will be administered by the Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with international law,” Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, according to state media.
The strait had reopened last week after Washington and Tehran reached an agreement, but Iran announced Saturday that it had closed the waterway again in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Qatari and Pakistani mediators said the two sides agreed to create a communication line “to avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels” through Hormuz.
The U.S. Treasury said Monday it was temporarily lifting sanctions on Iran to allow the Islamic Republic to produce, sell and deliver crude oil and related products through Aug. 21. Iranian state media reported Tuesday that Washington had also agreed to release $12 billion in frozen funds to Tehran.
Vance offered a narrower account, saying Iranian assets had not yet been unfrozen. He said that if any funds are released, they would be used to purchase U.S. goods, including soybeans, and would not be allowed to finance terrorism.
Iran has faced asset freezes and sweeping sanctions from the United States and other Western countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The Swiss talks helped ease pressure on oil markets and raised hopes that the two countries could move toward a longer-lasting settlement. Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said negotiators agreed on a “roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days,” with the deadline renewable.
“Encouraging progress has been made,” the mediators said, citing the Hormuz contact channel as one of the steps intended to reduce the risk of confrontation or misunderstanding.
Diplomatic efforts are continuing beyond Switzerland. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to travel to Pakistan following the talks, state media reported. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain to discuss the negotiations and “efforts to secure full and free safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz,” spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
The nuclear issue remains another major unresolved part of the talks.
Vance said Iran would allow United Nations nuclear inspectors to return to the country. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei gave a more limited account, saying “a very brief discussion took place regarding the nuclear issue, but there was no discussion of details.”
Inspections were created under the 2015 nuclear agreement, which Trump withdrew from in 2018. Iran suspended those inspections after Israeli-American bombings of its nuclear facilities in June 2025. Since then, International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have been unable to visit the damaged sites, leaving uncertainty over Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Tehran has denied seeking nuclear weapons and has maintained that it has the right to develop a full civilian nuclear fuel cycle.
Lebanon is also part of the negotiations after Tehran insisted the conflict there be included. A conflict management cell is expected to be created in an effort to stop fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian movement whose clashes with Israel drew Lebanon deeper into the war in early March.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday he received a call from Vance about “the issue of consolidating the ceasefire in Lebanon, stopping the Israeli military escalation and steps that should be taken in this regard, including the possibility of forming a cell for this purpose.”
Israel says its offensive in Lebanon is intended to prevent Hezbollah attacks. Lebanese authorities say the fighting has killed more than 4,100 people and displaced more than 1 million.
The next stage of negotiations will test whether Washington and Tehran can bridge competing positions on Hormuz, sanctions relief, nuclear inspections and Lebanon. For now, both sides are presenting the Swiss talks as progress, even as Iran’s insistence on controlling the strait signals that a final deal remains uncertain.