'Chess player' Iran says Hormuz stays shut until US pays up

Key Points:

• Iran insists it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the US meets its demands, including lifting the blockade of Iranian ports, ending sanctions, releasing frozen assets, and paying war compensation.
• US President Donald Trump signaled a willingness to let economic pressure on Iran continue, stepping back from military strikes amid Tehran's conditions for reopening the strategic waterway.
• Tehran is conducting separate talks with Oman about transit through the Strait but maintains that reopening depends on negotiations with the US, which remain limited to mediated message exchanges after a preliminary deal collapsed.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian recently met with Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been absent from public view since the war began; their discussion reportedly covered the military situation and future prospects.
• Iran views a recent defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan as a sign of shifting regional attitudes away from reliance on the US for security, asserting the treaty is not aimed against Tehran despite US ties to the signatories.