Tehran sets six conditions for Washington to unblock the Strait of Hormuz
A precarious — and unsettling — calm has prevailed for nearly 48 hours across the Levant and Gulf region, following attacks launched earlier this week by the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi militia against Saudi positions along the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border, as well as against areas held by Yemeni loyalist forces under the government recognized by the international community.
These loyalist units were set to launch major offensive operations against Houthi positions overnight Friday into Saturday morning.
The only notable security development on Saturday, August 8th, was an attack carried out by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against a UAE tanker in the Strait of Hormuz region. The UAE condemned the attack, describing it as an act of "Iranian piracy."
Later in the day, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan strongly condemned the Iranian aggression.
Saudi Arabia held Iran responsible for "the continued disgraceful aggressions and attacks on vessels." Qatar, for its part, stressed the "need to put an end to Iran's unjustified acts of aggression."
The IRGC raises the stakes
Alongside this security development, Saturday was marked by three critically important statements that, taken together, paint a clear picture of the current situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
At midday on Saturday, the spokesperson for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated bluntly that the restoration of free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz was contingent on the United States yielding to Iran's conditions.
In the evening, the Supreme National Security Council — the top body currently making major strategic decisions — issued a communiqué explicitly laying out six conditions for the United States ahead of any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz: a halt to all threats and insults directed at Iran; a permanent end to all wars in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and Palestine; the lifting of the blockade on Iranian ports and the withdrawal of all American forces from Iran's vicinity; the payment of compensation for damages caused by exchanges of fire; the lifting of all sanctions; and the unconditional release of all frozen assets.
The president's candid remarks
Against this backdrop, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated bluntly on Saturday that "the decision on war and peace lies in the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps." "The decision to stop the war or continue it rests with Iran's military command," the Iranian president emphasized.
These remarks suggest the eclipse — or even the disappearance — of the role of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, who is, in principle, responsible for making decisions of such strategic magnitude.
It is worth recalling that earlier in the week, President Pezeshkian had stated that contact with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had become extremely difficult.
In a telling sign of the deep socioeconomic crisis Iran is facing, the Iranian president noted in his Saturday statement that "it is no longer easy to bring goods into the country, and we must find other ways to achieve this goal."
In any case, political circles were awaiting, on Saturday evening, President Donald Trump's response to the conditions set by the IRGC for agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.