Iran's top diplomat accused the United States on July 25, 2026 of trying to open a new shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's say-so. The strait is a narrow stretch of water between Iran and Oman through which about a fifth of the world's oil supply passes every day. Whoever controls the rules for ships passing through it holds enormous power over global energy.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in Iranian media, as reported by Al Jazeera, that the two countries signed an agreement in June 2026 that gives Tehran the right to decide how ships travel through the strait. He said Washington should have asked Tehran before setting up new routes. Both sides had also agreed to set up a direct phone line to sort out disputes like this.

The accusation came on a rare quiet night. Al Jazeera reporter Resul Serdar, speaking from Tehran, said there were no US attacks on major Iranian cities overnight into Saturday, July 25. That had not happened in nearly two weeks. Iran's health ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour wrote on X that "Iran had a peaceful night." A former Austrian defence official named Wolfgang Pusztai described the US strategy as "hot and cold" — striking one night, holding back the next — to push Iran toward ending the war.

Talks Are Happening, but Not Much Is Moving

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 sides are trading messages through go-betweens. But Tehran is still looking over the proposals, and Serdar said there is "not much progress yet" because of "fundamental differences" and deep "mistrust."

The back-and-forth has been shaky since late June. On June 27, the US and Iran agreed to stop fighting in the Gulf and talk things out. That deal followed a 60-day break on sanctions — penalties the US uses to block Iran from selling oil — that Washington had granted on June 22. But the arrangement fell apart fast. The US brought back the oil sanctions on July 7, blaming shipping attacks in the strait, and started new strikes that same day. Things got worse on July 8, when Iran hit back at Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. On July 11, Iran agreed to keep talking but also said the ceasefire was over.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on July 20 that Iran was supposed to announce it would open the strait and stop attacks about a week earlier. By July 22, he put the US position simply: Iran should not be allowed to charge tolls or limit ships passing through the strait. That same day, the US military's Central Command said the strait "remains open."

The Blockade and the Legal Fight

The US set up a naval blockade of the strait on July 14. A blockade means military ships are used to stop other vessels from entering an area. Since then, the US says it has redirected 12 vessels and disabled one more. US military spokesman Tim Hawkins told Al Jazeera on July 24 that the US had "disabled" a tanker — a large cargo ship — that kept trying to break through the blockade after being warned. Iran's foreign ministry, posting on its Ireland embassy website, said the disruptions in the strait were caused by US and Israeli aggression and called on the world to condemn it.

The fight over who gets to control the strait has now reached Iran's lawmaking body. On July 25, Iran's parliament sent 12 bills forward that would tighten Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz. This signals that Tehran wants to make its claims part of national law, not just a temporary talking point. Araghchi's focus on the June agreement as legal proof of Iran's authority suggests Iran sees it as more than a peace deal — it sees it as a document that locks in its control over one of the most important waterways on Earth.

A Conflict on Many Fronts

Iran's foreign ministry has been busy on several fronts. On July 8, it criticized a group of three European countries — France, Germany, and the UK — for saying their actions were meant to support diplomacy, and said Iran would stop cooperating with them. Through its United Nations office in Vienna, Iran reported on July 16 that civilian areas had been hit by American and Israeli attacks, with many more struck in the five days before that. The ministry also said on July 8 that 13 children were killed in airstrikes, pointing to American ships in the strait.

The broader context here is a conflict that has swung between fighting and talking over and over in a single month. Each time the strikes paused, the talks broke down again. And each round of talks ran into the same wall: Washington says ships should pass freely through Hormuz, while Tehran says the June agreement gives it the right to set the rules. The phone line both sides agreed to set up has not closed that gap. Whether the current pause in fighting holds may depend less on the proposals being reviewed in Tehran than on whether either side is willing to rethink what the June agreement actually requires.