Strait of Hormuz will not open until US corrects its behaviour: Iran's Mohsen Rezaei

Tehran's dual message: diplomacy and defiance

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has defended a memorandum of understanding with the United States as the best way to move beyond what he described as a situation of "neither war nor peace," even as Iran's new top security chief warned neighbouring countries against supporting fresh US efforts to tighten economic pressure on Tehran.

In a speech published by state-run IRNA early on Sunday, Pezeshkian said members of Iran's Supreme National Security Council believed the memorandum was the best possible agreement based on dignity, wisdom and the national interest. "There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation," he said, according to the Associated Press and India Today. "The supreme leader sets the policies, and we will follow that path."

Pezeshkian rejected claims that Tehran had compromised on any part of the agreement. "There is not a single clause in the memorandum that we have compromised," he said in a speech to mark Doctors' Day, as reported by ANI, Republic World and The Tribune, citing Al Jazeera and Iran's IRNA news agency. He said the MoU was considered the best possible path by all members of Iran's Security Council. "We signed the memorandum of understanding because we believe that we cannot achieve anything through war," he added.

Pezeshkian also said that Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had "accepted that we must take this path to escape this situation," according to Al Jazeera. He called for internal unity and cohesion, saying, "We are not going to bow our heads and give in to the enemy. We can solve our problems with strength but with logic."

Strait of Hormuz remains closed

In an interview with state broadcaster IRIB, Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and will not reopen until the United States fulfils its commitments and changes its behaviour. "The Strait of Hormuz is closed, despite American claims, and will not open until America corrects its behaviour," Rezaei said, as reported by The Tribune and other outlets.

Rezaei, who was appointed this month in senior changes widely seen as hardening Tehran's stance, accused US President Donald Trump of creating "nuclear insecurity" and alleged that Washington had abandoned military options and was relying on economic pressure. He claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had assured Trump that an economic blockade would force Iran to surrender. "Netanyahu has promised Trump that if he imposes an economic blockade on Iran for six months or two to three months, he will surrender," Rezaei said in the IRIB interview, as reported by The Tribune.

Rezaei warned neighbouring countries against joining the US economic campaign. "We declare to all countries... do not join the economic war waged by the United States," he said, according to The Canberra Times. "Any country participating in the imposition of economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy." He added that "if (Trump) wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner."

Rezaei warned that Iran would target oil-shipping routes out of the Persian Gulf if neighbours joined the economic war. "If the countries surrounding Iran join the Americans in their economic war, not a drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and we will also target other oil export routes from the Persian Gulf," he said, as quoted by The Independent.

Rezaei also said discussions with Oman over management of the Strait were ongoing, and that fees would be imposed. He asserted that Iran had control over the waterway shortly after the US and Israel attacked on February 28. He vowed to make changes to Iran's diplomacy and bring new capabilities to what he called the next war, and warned the US against sending more military personnel to the region.

Economic pressure mounts

The memorandum of understanding signed by Trump in June set a 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear programme. That period ended last week, but the two sides remain far apart, with no sign of compromise on the issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, vital to global shipping. Nearly six months into the war, Iran's economy is under strain from sanctions and a naval blockade that has made oil exports extremely difficult, according to the Associated Press and India Today.

Pezeshkian linked the agreement to Iran's economic prospects, saying the country could not attract investment in the current phase. "Capital and money are extremely sensitive to risk," he said. "We have to remove this risk from the country."

US President Donald Trump announced an "Economic D-Day" campaign against Iran, calling it the "most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country," as reported by Republic World and The Tribune. Trump vowed to impose an "unprecedented" level of economic pressure, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened "the toughest sanctions in history," according to The Canberra Times. Bessent has urged cooperation with China, which buys more than 80 per cent of Iran's shipped oil, according to 2025 data from Kpler.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the imminent US sanctions were an "assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations," as reported by The Independent and The Canberra Times.

Trump also repeated his claim that the Strait of Hormuz is "new US territory," sharing an image on Truth Social on Sunday that depicts the waterway as such, following a similar post on August 18. On August 14, he had stated, "Pretty soon I'll be declaring the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States," as reported by ANI. Rezaei responded: "The gap between America's inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself." He added, "Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf."

Iran's internal pressures

Pezeshkian acknowledged the mounting economic and social pressures facing the country, saying Iran was dealing with "many problems" as Tehran confronts fresh US sanctions. "I understand we have many problems in society right now. We are trying to prevent these as much as we can," he said in a speech broadcast on state television, according to The Times of India. His remarks came days after the United States vowed to seek the "collapse" of the Iranian regime through a new sanctions campaign.

Pezeshkian said Iran was now facing what he described as a broad confrontation with the United States, saying that, in his words, "thanks to US President Donald Trump, Iran is in a full-scale economic, military and security war." The Iranian economy has faced repeated pressure from sanctions, while inflation and exchange-rate swings have reduced purchasing power. At the end of December last year, protests that initially focused on the rising cost of living grew into wider demonstrations against Iran's leadership. Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths during the unrest and accused the United States and Israel of orchestrating the violence.

In a separate speech marking the beginning of Government Week, Pezeshkian lauded the resilience of the Iranian people, saying, "They (US) sought to turn Iran into another Venezuela, but instead, Iran emerged as a power that amazed the world with its resistance, solidarity and unity." He urged solidarity, saying, "In the face of the enemy's all-out economic war, we must stand together, just as we did during the US-Israeli war, supporting and helping one another." His remarks were shared by Iranian state broadcaster Press TV on Sunday.

Regional developments

Separately, a Palestinian man, Saeed Muhammad Ibrahim Rabah, 61, said an Israeli settler struck him with a pipe outside his home in the occupied West Bank, according to the Associated Press and India Today. Rabah said the attack was an attempt to provoke him to leave his land. In April 2025, he was shot in the legs by a settler, leading to amputation of one leg after a delay in treatment. Israel's military said they were pursuing a suspect in a stabbing attack that injured a 24-year-old near Jericho.