Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States on July 25, 2026 of attempting to force open a new transit route through the Strait of Hormuz that would bypass Iranian authority, injecting a legal-territorial dimension into a conflict that has already seen nearly two weeks of nightly US strikes on Iranian soil. Araghchi's remarks, published in Iranian media and reported by Al Jazeera, center on a US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding signed in June 2026, which he stated grants Tehran the right to set transit routes and mechanisms for the strait. He argued that Washington should have consulted Tehran before establishing new routes and noted that both sides had agreed to open a direct line of communication to resolve such disputes.

The accusation comes at an inflection point in the military campaign. Al Jazeera correspondent Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, confirmed that there were no direct US attacks on major Iranian cities overnight into Saturday, July 25, a break from nearly two straight weeks of nightly strikes that began on July 8. Iran's health ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour posted on X that "Iran had a peaceful night." The pause aligns with what former Austrian Defence Attache Wolfgang Pusztai described as a US "hot and cold approach" — bombing one night, withholding strikes the next — designed to facilitate Iran's desire to end the war.

Diplomatic Channels Open, but Progress Is Thin

US President Donald Trump said on the night of July 24 that Iranian officials are talking to the US and "they'd love to make a deal," adding, "I'm willing to listen." Iranian officials confirmed to Al Jazeera that the two countries are exchanging messages, with proposals conveyed by mediators. But Tehran is still reviewing those proposals, and Serdar reported that there is "not much progress yet" owing to "fundamental differences" and deep "mistrust" between the two sides.

The diplomatic track has been volatile since late June. The US and Iran agreed on June 27 to halt hostilities in the Gulf and renew talks over the Hormuz dispute, following a 60-day sanctions waiver Washington granted on June 22 after initial negotiations under a nascent peace deal. That fragile arrangement collapsed within weeks. The US reinstated oil sanctions on July 7 citing shipping attacks in the strait, launched new strikes the same day, and escalated again on July 8, when Tehran responded by hitting Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. On July 11, Iran agreed to continue talks while simultaneously declaring the ceasefire over.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in remarks published July 20, stated that Iran was supposed to issue a statement about opening the strait and ceasing attacks roughly a week earlier. By July 22, Rubio framed the US position bluntly: Iran opposes tolling or any restraint on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. That same day, CENTCOM stated that the strait "remains open."

The Blockade and the Legal Dispute

The US re-imposed a naval blockade of the strait on July 14. Since then, the US military has redirected 12 vessels and disabled another, according to a claim made on July 23. US Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins told Al Jazeera on July 24 that the US had "disabled" a tanker that repeatedly tried to breach the blockade and ignored warnings. Iran's foreign ministry, through its Ireland embassy website, characterized disruptions in the strait as a direct result of US-Israeli aggression and called for international condemnation.

The dispute over transit rights has now moved into Iran's legislature. On July 25, Iran's parliament referred 12 bills aimed at tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz, a legislative response that signals Tehran intends to institutionalize its jurisdictional claims rather than treat them as a passing bargaining chip. Araghchi's invocation of the June MoU as the legal basis for Iran's authority over transit routes suggests Iran views the agreement not merely as a de-escalation framework but as an instrument that codifies its sovereign prerogatives over one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints.

A Conflict With Multiple Fronts

Iran's foreign ministry has been active on multiple diplomatic fronts. In a statement dated July 8, it criticized the European troika (E3) for framing their actions as an effort to advance diplomacy and indicated Iran would cease further cooperation. Through its Vienna UN mission, it reported on July 16 that civilian locations had been targeted by American and Israeli attacks, with many more struck during the preceding five days. The ministry also claimed on July 8 that 13 children were killed in airstrikes, referencing American vessels in the strait.

The broader context here is a conflict that has cycled through escalation and negotiation repeatedly in a single month. Each temporary halt in strikes has been followed by a renewed breakdown, and each round of talks has surfaced the same structural tension: Washington insists on unrestricted freedom of navigation through Hormuz, while Tehran asserts that the June MoU gives it authority over transit routes. The direct communication line both sides agreed to establish has not yet bridged that gap. Whether the current pause in strikes holds may depend less on the proposals now under review in Tehran than on whether either side is willing to recalibrate its interpretation of what the MoU actually requires.