Iran’s New Security Chief Says Hormuz Stays Closed Until Washington Accepts Tehran’s Terms
Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s new Supreme National Security Council secretary, says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed unless Washington changes its behaviour and accepts Iranian conditions including an end to regional wars and release of frozen assets.
Iran’s new top security official has delivered a blunt message to Washington: the Strait of Hormuz will not fully reopen unless the United States changes its behaviour and accepts Iran’s conditions.
Reuters confirms that Mohsen Rezaei, the new secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the waterway would remain closed unless Washington meets demands communicated through mediators.
Those demands include ending the war and releasing frozen Iranian assets.
Iranian officials have separately laid out a broader list involving sanctions relief, U.S. military posture, reparations and an end to attacks affecting Iranian allies in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and Iraq.
The message is important because Rezaei is not merely another commentator.
He is a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards and has now taken one of the most powerful national-security posts in the Islamic Republic.
His appointment signals that hardline security thinking has gained weight during negotiations.
Rezaei has spent decades arguing that Iran must use regional deterrence and strategic geography to compensate for conventional U.S. military superiority.
Hormuz fits that doctrine perfectly.
Iran cannot match the U.S. Navy ship for ship.
It can make one of the world’s most important energy routes dangerous enough that global economic pressure rises quickly.
The United States wants to separate maritime access from the wider war.
Washington argues that commercial vessels have a right to lawful passage and should not need Iranian political permission.
Iran rejects that framing and treats the strait as leverage over sanctions, blockades and regional military pressure.
That is why negotiations with Oman can solve technical questions without solving the political conflict.
Iran and Oman may agree on lane coordinates, mine clearance and communications protocols.
Rezaei can still say traffic remains conditional on Washington changing policy.
The new security leadership also complicates President Masoud Pezeshkian’s position.
Pezeshkian has acknowledged economic pressure and internal disagreements.
Pragmatic officials have reasons to reopen trade quickly.
Hardliners fear that reopening without major concessions would waste the leverage created by months of fighting and economic sacrifice.
Rezaei represents that second view more clearly than his predecessor.
The economic contradiction remains severe.
Closing Hormuz hurts Gulf exporters and global markets.
It also hurts Iran.
The U.S. blockade has restricted Iranian oil exports and imports, increasing inflation and fiscal pressure.
Tehran therefore needs a deal while insisting it can wait longer than Trump.
Washington has its own pressure points: depleted munitions, elevated oil prices and domestic political fatigue.
Each side believes time may force the other to compromise.
The open question is whether Rezaei’s appointment makes Iran’s negotiating position more coherent and credible—or locks Tehran into demands so broad that a technical maritime deal becomes impossible even as both economies increasingly need one.