Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has told China’s ambassador that the Strait of Hormuz “will not be opened until the United States changes its behavior and accepts Iran’s conditions,” Al Jazeera reports citing Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

He said the US is “the source of insecurity” in the the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, accusing it of imposing “an illegal war” that has put the entire region at risk. Rezaei said Washington “must end the war” and release Iran’s blocked funds, along with ending conflict across the region, including in Lebanon and Gaza.

He added that any Iran-Oman agreement on a route through the Strait of Hormuz would remain “separate” from the broader issue of the Strait’s closure.

Opinion

Editorial

Risks ahead
Updated 02 Oct, 2026

Risks ahead

To think that the government would rather push out an elected government than grant a single prisoner some facilities does not square up rationally.
Exit from Iraq
02 Oct, 2026

Exit from Iraq

AMERICAN and British troops have once again shipped out of Iraq. On Wednesday, the foreign forces left the Arab...
Lahore’s ozone warning
02 Oct, 2026

Lahore’s ozone warning

LAHORE has received another warning that its air pollution crisis cannot be treated as a problem that begins with...
Fixing bond markets
Updated 01 Oct, 2026

Fixing bond markets

Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, retail investors, and eventually, foreign investors must become bigger participants in the market.
Call centre rackets
01 Oct, 2026

Call centre rackets

A NUMBER of recent raids conducted by the authorities in different cities point to the growing threat fraudulent ...
Homeward bound
01 Oct, 2026

Homeward bound

FIVE months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a 19-member multinational crew, Somali maritime...