Iranian leadership has issued a list of eight demands that the United States must meet before reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway. The key shipping lane has remained closed for much of the time since the war on Iran began in late February.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council announced that the strait will not open until the United States "corrects its behavior." Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the head of the council and a commander in the Revolutionary Guard, presented the list of conditions.
Zolghadr reports directly to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who is currently considering a deal with Oman to manage traffic in the waterway. A 60-day negotiation window for a final agreement ends in just over a week, though officials may extend it.
Iranian Demands for Reopening the Strait
The new list includes several previously unheard-of requests alongside earlier demands. Iran is calling for a permanent end to the war, an immediate end to the U.S. Naval blockade, and the full withdrawal of military forces.
Zolghadr also demanded that the U.S. end sanctions on Tehran, unfreeze Iranian financial assets, and pay reparations to the Iranians to reopen the strait. State news agency Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the U.S. must also stop threatening and insulting Iran and end all military actions against Iranian allies in the region.
The release of the demands coincided with an attack in the waterway. The United Arab Emirates reported that an Iranian missile targeted one of its ships in the strait on the same day. The Daily Mail has reached out to the State Department for comment.
Clash Over U.S. Munitions Shortages
The diplomatic demands arrived as President Donald Trump attempted to quash reports of internal administration conflict over hidden U.S. missile shortages. According to the Washington Post, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reportedly turned on his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, when confronted over why the president was kept in the dark.
The showdown reportedly unfolded at Camp David last Friday. Hegseth insisted he was blameless and accused Feinberg of presiding over the shortfall and failing to keep the president fully briefed.
The scene laid bare Trump's mounting frustration with Hegseth, who was one of the loudest early cheerleaders for striking Iran and had assured him the operation would be a swift and relatively painless win. Shortages of long-range guided missiles and air defense interceptors are among the reasons Trump has held back from launching further large-scale strikes against Iran in recent days.
The interceptor crunch is reportedly now so severe that it is changing how the military decides which incoming threats to shoot down. Commanders are forced to weigh where a missile is headed before committing precious defenses.
White House Denials and Defense Pushback
Trump hit back at reports of munitions shortages, denying any shortfall and insisting that interceptors are reaching American bases as needed. Writing on Truth Social, Trump stated: "The “leakers” of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought!"
The White House denied that the clash ever took place. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "This is 100% fake news. Literally never happened. And President Trump has the utmost confidence in Secretary Hegseth."
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell joined the pushback, insisting Hegseth "did not mislead anyone" about weapons stocks and never pointed the finger at Feinberg. However, NBC News reported that Feinberg received a furious phone call from Trump on Friday evening, during which the president is said to have threatened to fire him.
The rattled deputy then hastily summoned top Pentagon brass to a late-night crisis meeting just hours after hanging up. Feinberg, 66, is a billionaire who chaired Trump's Intelligence Advisory Board in his first term before being handed the Pentagon's number two job.
Stalemate and Collapsed Truce Efforts
Far from a quick victory, the Iran conflict has ground into a near six-month stalemate, with 18 American troops dead. Tehran has responded to attacks by raining missiles on American bases and allies across the region and strangling shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
A fragile truce brokered by Pakistan collapsed last month after Iranian attacks on tankers. Trump declared U.S. forces "locked and loaded" for fresh strikes at the weekend, only to back down after appeals from Gulf allies, and he now claims talks with Tehran are restarting, something Iran denies.
