Rezaei said Tehran will hold no negotiations over its decision to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut until its seven conditions are met.

It hardens what he said on Tuesday, when he called the US response unconvincing and said Washington must answer the conditions fully and explicitly, and act on them, before the strait reopens. Iranian state media has listed the conditions as immediate lifting of the naval blockade, immediate release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to war across all resistance fronts. Iran first set out a list of seven conditions on September 22, among them an end to the US blockade.

The diplomacy around it is crowded but has not moved Tehran. Vahid Online reported that Qatari mediators have travelled to Tehran twice in recent days with a new peace plan, which does not appear to have been accepted. Rezaei said he had recently received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance. Iran has also rejected the latest US proposal, a seven-day plan to open the strait and lift the blockade, calling it a list of "unacceptable demands, not an offer", Middle East Spectator reported, citing Reuters.

The other side describes a different strait. US Central Command says American forces have cleared every recognised main route of mines, and that the premium on Gulf crude has fallen from $34 a barrel to about $6. Saudi shipping data show October export volumes close to September's. Iran's navy says tankers have hit mines near Hormuz, naming no ships and giving no casualty details, while Central Command says the main routes remain clear.

On Wednesday, Arab diplomats said US-Iran talks had progressed and would be clearer on Friday, while Iran's side said a deal was far off.

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