Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until the war ends. Speaking during a meeting in Tehran with Chinese Ambassador Zong Peiyu on August 12, 2026, Rezaei blamed the United States for insecurity in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. He said the United States had put the wider region at risk by imposing what he called an illegal war on Iran.

Rezaei said the strait would remain closed until the United States changes its conduct and accepts Iran’s conditions. He called for an end to the war, the return of Iranian funds that he said were seized, and a halt to fighting across the region, including in Lebanon and Gaza. He added that Iran had conveyed further conditions to the United States through mediators.

He said any Iran-Oman agreement on a route for vessel movements in the strait would be separate from the issue of the blockade. Ambassador Zong reaffirmed China’s support for Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposed US and Israeli military attacks on Iran, and said China wanted to expand cooperation with Tehran.