CNN: Iran Has Made A New Demand To End The War

• 2.04.2026, 13:22

Tehran's ambitions have expanded.

Iran's list of demands to end the war includes an item that was not there before. Tehran wants recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

This is reported by CNN.

The critical waterway, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies pass, has become the Islamic Republic's most powerful weapon, the publication says.

And now Tehran seeks to become both a source of potentially billions of dollars in annual revenue and a pressure point on the global economy.

Iran has long threatened to close the strait if attacked, but few expected it would do so - or that it would prove so effective in disrupting world trade flows.

The scale of the consequences appears to have expanded Tehran's ambitions, and the new demands suggest it is eager to turn that leverage into something more durable.

According to analysts, Iran has been stunned in part by how successful its Strait of Hormuz strategy has been. By how cheaply and relatively easily it has managed to hold the world economy hostage.

"One of the lessons from this war is that Iran has discovered this new leverage and is likely to use it in the future," CNN quoted an expert as saying.

In Washington, however, it is acutely aware of the risk. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that one immediate challenge after the war would be Tehran's attempts to install a tolling system in Hormuz.

He said such a condition is illegal and dangerous to the world.

As CNN notes, in previous rounds of talks with Washington, Tehran has insisted on sanctions relief and recognition of its right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, but not control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has signaled the possibility of formalizing this leverage. Thus, a committee of the Iranian parliament has approved a preliminary draft law on navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

In its provisions, among other things, it includes a clause on monetary fees for passage through the strait. The draft also includes clauses on banning vessels linked to the United States or Israel from passing through the maritime corridor.