US and Iran Remain Locked Over Strait of Hormuz as Talks Stall and Tanker Attacks Rise
Strait of Hormuz talks between the United States and Iran have produced no breakthrough. Each side is insisting on a different order of steps, and attacks on tankers have increased in the meantime.
Iran says the strait will not reopen until its conditions are met. The US says a wider settlement must deal with Tehran’s nuclear programme. Qatar and other mediators are trying to bridge the gap while one of the world’s most important energy routes stays disrupted.
How the standoff began
The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, and Iran then moved to control shipping through the Hormuz waterway. In peacetime, about one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passes through it. Washington has responded with a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
A ceasefire was announc...