US President Donald Trump has reportedly signalled to senior aides that he is willing to end the Iran war without securing a nuclear deal with Tehran. But Iran’s new demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz have complicated the US president’s efforts to find an exit from the conflict, Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.For weeks, Trump had been preparing to declare victory if Iran fully reopened the strategic waterway, according to US officials cited by the WSJ. The administration had increasingly focused on restoring commercial traffic through the strait after broader negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme proved difficult.But Tehran has now raised the price for reopening the waterway, demanding billions of dollars in US payments, the withdrawal of American forces from the region and an end to the US naval blockade, among other concessions, the report said.Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr said on Saturday that Tehran would require the US to permanently end the war, lift its naval blockade, withdraw its forces, end sanctions, release Iran’s frozen assets and pay war reparations before the strait could be reopened, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.Iran has also demanded an end to US threats and military action against its regional allies.The developments threaten to narrow Trump’s options for securing an exit from the conflict. The president has repeatedly threatened a major escalation of the US bombing campaign while also signalling that he wants the war to end.“The Iranians fully believe Trump wants out and is focused on opening the strait, which is why they are playing hardball,” Gregory Brew, an Iran expert at Eurasia Group, told the WSJ.Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Iran’s demands were making it increasingly difficult for Trump to find a politically acceptable way out of the conflict.The Strait of Hormuz has become a central point of leverage for Tehran. Iran closed the waterway after the war began in February, disrupting commercial shipping through a route that is critical to global energy supplies.Trump has repeatedly claimed in recent weeks that the strait was open, but those declarations have come before commercial traffic was fully restored.
Domestic pressure mounts
The issue has taken on added urgency for Trump with US gasoline prices remaining above pre-war levels and the midterm elections less than three months away.Trump has also increasingly suggested that a nuclear agreement may not be necessary for him to declare the conflict successfully concluded.On Friday, he shared a social-media post linking to an article declaring that “Donald Trump Won the Iran War.”Vice President JD Vance similarly indicated that Washington would continue applying pressure on Tehran but said the administration could accept the absence of further negotiations if Iran did not agree to its demands.The White House has said US forces have achieved their military objectives in Iran. A White House official told the WSJ that Trump’s focus had now shifted to ensuring the free movement of energy through the Strait of Hormuz, while military options would remain available if Iran attacks additional vessels.
Frozen assets complicate discussions
A further complication is the question of money. Iran is seeking billions of dollars in war reparations and the unfreezing of assets held overseas. Trump has said the US would not allow American taxpayer money to be sent to Iran, although the WSJ reported that an agreement could require Washington to release at least some frozen Iranian assets, potentially under conditions.There is also disagreement over whether the US should again allow Iran to sell oil on international markets. Washington had previously granted oil-sale waivers as part of an interim ceasefire agreement, but reinstated sanctions after the ceasefire collapsed following Iranian attacks on shipping in the strait.Trump has privately indicated that Iran’s nuclear programme may no longer be an immediate obstacle to ending the war, according to US officials cited by the WSJ. He believes the destruction of three major Iranian nuclear sites has severely impaired Tehran’s ability to restart its programme and that US intelligence would detect attempts to rebuild them or secretly develop a weapon.If Iran’s nuclear capabilities remain contained and commercial traffic through Hormuz resumes, Trump is more likely to extend the current ceasefire indefinitely, the officials said.The administration is also expected to lift its blockade of Iranian ports if Tehran fully reopens the strait.
