An Iranian woman walks past a bus under a banner featuring Iran's late supreme leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C) next to newly elected supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in northern Tehran. AFP
“Iran has so far not agreed on the next round of talks with the United States due to Donald Trump’s announcement regarding a naval blockade of Iran, as well as the US’s excessive demands in the negotiations, which have continued in the recent exchange of messages,” the agency said.
“Iran has made it clear that the avoidance of excessive demands by the United States in negotiations is a fundamental condition for the talks to continue; otherwise, Iran is not seeking to waste time in drawn-out and unproductive negotiations,” it added, noting that Iran’s position has been conveyed to US officials through Pakistan.
The report comes as discussions on a follow-up round of US-Iran talks, expected to continue under Pakistan mediation in Islamabad, remain unconfirmed.
Iran on Saturday reimposed restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz after the United States refused to lift its maritime blockade on Iran-linked shipping.
“Control over the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic waterway is now under strict management and control of the armed forces,” a spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters said.
“Until America allows full freedom of navigation for vessels traveling from Iran to destinations and vice versa, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain under strict control and in its previous condition.”
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with Washington, including on its nuclear programme.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait would remain open to commercial traffic during the ceasefire period with the United States before the policy shift.
An informed Iranian source outlined to Fars News Agency the conditions for vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz as part of a tentative ceasefire framework mediated by Pakistan on 8 April, under which Iran initially agreed to allow a limited number of vessels to pass daily.
The source said the arrangement—restricting passage to commercial vessels, banning military ships and hostile cargo, requiring designated routes, and coordinating with Iranian forces overseeing the waterway—remains conditional on developments tied to the Lebanon ceasefire, warning that continued maritime blockade measures could be seen as a violation of the truce and trigger a renewed closure of the strait.
US Central Command said on X that 21 ships have been diverted from Iranian waters since the blockade began on Monday.
Speaking on Saturday, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Trump of making “seven claims in one hour, all of which were false,” saying that continued blockade measures would determine the status of the Strait of Hormuz and that passage would be carried out “with Iran’s permission.”
He added that regulation of the waterway would be decided “in the field, not on social media,” and urged readers to keep up with Iranian foreign ministry statements.
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