World·Middle East

Update: Iran hardens Hormuz stance as ~80 countries demand the strait reopen

Published 2:00 PM CT, Friday, September 25, 2026 · Updated 2:08 PM CT
In the 2 PM CT update

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei said Tehran has drawn up seven conditions and passed them to the United States through Pakistan and Qatar, telling Iranian state media, "Until our conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened, and we will not negotiate," The National reported Friday. Sources close to the Iranian delegation told The National that New York contacts this week were position-sharing, not negotiations, and that Tehran offered no concessions from its public demands. Separately, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani read a joint U.N. statement backed by about 80 countries demanding the urgent reopening of the strait; The National said Europe and Washington are drafting a Security Council text to back an international maritime mission, which Iran opposes. Al Jazeera reported Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s seven-day reopen offer still hinges on a ceasefire including Lebanon, lifting the U.S. naval blockade and oil sanctions, and related steps before nuclear talks resume.