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ARCHIVE – Children wading in the water. In the background, cargo ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/AP/dpa
Keystone
According to media reports, the U.S. is demanding that Iran commit to free and safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian leadership should publicly assure that the strait is open and that Iran will refrain from attacking commercial ships, reported the website “Axios” and the “Wall Street Journal,” among others, citing U.S. government officials. One of the officials reportedly hinted at serious consequences should such a commitment not be made by today. It remained unclear what those consequences would be and whether there is, in fact, a specific deadline.
The demand was reportedly conveyed to Iran both directly and through intermediaries. In recent days, the U.S. had attacked targets in Iran, citing attacks on merchant ships in the strait—which is vital for global trade in oil, gas, and fertilizer—as justification. On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump had reaffirmed the end of the ceasefire in the war with Iran. At the same time, however, he left the door open for talks. Tehran had asked for talks to continue, and the U.S. had agreed, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social. He put the word “talks” in quotation marks.
According to the pro-government broadcaster Press TV, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai rejected claims that Tehran had sought negotiations with the United States. However, he said, Tehran had complied with a request from a regional mediator to visit Tehran and discuss the current situation. According to information from “Axios,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to discuss the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani counterpart today in Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Most recently, the conflict over the strategic strait escalated again after the warring parties—Iran and the U.S.—had actually agreed on June 17 to a framework agreement for in-depth talks aimed at ending the war. Under that agreement, the parties had agreed to negotiate a final deal within 60 days. A ceasefire had also been in effect since early April, but it was repeatedly violated and has now been declared over by Trump.
In addition to the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program is among the points of contention. The U.S. government now considers a nuclear deal with Iran increasingly unlikely, the *Wall Street Journal* reported, citing high-ranking U.S. officials. Their remarks to reporters were described as a rare admission that one of Trump’s central foreign policy goals—curbing Iran’s nuclear program—might not be achievable through peace talks.
According to researchers, satellite images suggest that Iran is rebuilding a military research facility. Such activities have been observed in recent weeks at the military complex in Parchin, for example, as reported by the Institute for Science and International Security, which specializes in nuclear issues.
According to the researchers, the facility had been hit several times at the start of the war. While satellite images initially showed cleanup efforts, there have been increasing signs in recent weeks of permanent repairs. These include several concrete mixers and other equipment used to permanently seal the impact craters.
The so-called Taleghan Complex has repeatedly been the subject of speculation in the past. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, work was carried out there as part of Iran’s Amad program through 2003 on technologies that could be relevant to nuclear weapons. Tests with high-explosives are said to have been conducted there to simulate the implosion of a nuclear warhead. Iran denies the existence of the program.
The satellite images were provided by CNN, which also analyzed them itself in collaboration with the institute. CNN reported, however, that there was no suspicious activity at Isfahan—which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) considers the most important uranium deposit. The same was true for Natanz and Fordo. The three facilities had already been bombed by the U.S. last summer.
U.S. President Trump had repeatedly emphasized that his administration had been meticulously monitoring the sites ever since. Under the framework agreement, Tehran had committed to maintaining the “status quo” regarding its nuclear program. Iran also pledged to refrain from developing nuclear weapons.
If Iran fails to comply with the framework agreement, which granted Tehran financial benefits in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, there would be little hope of concluding a far more complex agreement on the elimination of Iran’s nuclear material and the imposition of long-term caps on Iran’s nuclear program, the *Wall Street Journal* quoted senior U.S. officials as saying.
The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as Iran’s most powerful economic and military leverage in the conflict. In response to attacks on tankers, the U.S. military has recently bombed targets in Iran on several occasions. In addition, the U.S. has reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil. Iran, for its part, responded with attacks. In the process, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan—which host important U.S. military bases—also came under fire.
The *Wall Street Journal* reported that statements by U.S. officials regarding Iran’s demand for a commitment to free and safe navigation in the strait, as well as doubts about a nuclear deal, raise the question of whether Trump is preparing for another major strategic shift.
It was reported that one of his options was to resume full-scale war in an attempt to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. However, he could also strike a deal that falls short of his demands—or withdraw from the conflict entirely, even if that would jeopardize control over the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran insists that the framework agreement stipulates that sole responsibility for managing the vital strait lies with Iran.
11.07.2026, 08:15
