Iran Sets Six Conditions for Hormuz Reopening; Vance Signals "Verify, Not Trust" Stance on Gulf Oil Flows

Iran's Supreme National Security Council said Saturday the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to international shipping until Washington "corrects its behavior," issuing a sweeping list of demands that threatens to unravel Oman-mediated progress toward reopening the waterway.

Council Secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, also a Revolutionary Guard commander, laid out six conditions via Iranian state broadcast: an end to military threats against Iran and to "insults" against Iranian sanctities and regional allies including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis; a full US military withdrawal from the region and permanent end to strikes on Iran and its proxies; lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports; removal of all sanctions; unconditional release of frozen Iranian assets worldwide; and full compensation for damages sustained in the 2025–2026 conflict. Zolghadr described the list as the will of the Iranian people and said the council "will never back down, whether in war or in negotiations."

The demands mirror conditions Tehran had previously reserved for a permanent peace settlement — now being attached to the narrower question of strait access. Analysts, including Channel 12's Barak Ravid, have called the list one Washington "clearly cannot accept," raising the risk of a return to military options rather than a negotiated reopening.

Speaking separately on Fox News' Saturday in America, US Vice President JD Vance struck a more measured tone on the same negotiating track. Asked by host Kayleigh McEnany what an acceptable outcome would look like, Vance said Iran had communicated it would restore oil and gas flows to pre-conflict levels and had no plans to toll vessels transiting the strait — but added, "we don't trust, we verify. We actually look not at people's words but people's deeds." Vance said talks with Oman had produced "some progress over the last few days," with remaining work focused on demining and establishing a safe traffic scheme, including an Iranian commitment not to fire on commercial vessels. He cautioned the war "is not over" and that negotiations remain "in the middle of the game," questioning whether Iran's political system can deliver on long-term commitments given the military degradation it has suffered.

Sourcing note: Zolghadr's demands originate from Iranian state media (IRIB/Tasnim/IRNA); Western outlets including CNBC and Times of Israel have reported them on that basis without independent verification of primary documentation. Vance's remarks are independently corroborated across Fox News, ANI, and Middle East Monitor from the same August 8 broadcast.