Washington calls the Hormuz lanes open, Tehran calls the strait closed, and both are negotiating

CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said this week his forces had cleared all Iranian sea mines along internationally recognised transit routes: “The circumstances were challenging and dangerous to say the least, but we got the job done. Bottom line, today, international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building.” His claim is scoped to those routes, not to the strait as a whole. On Saturday, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi was quoted saying “the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and any vessel passing through the strait does so in coordination with Iran,” and that Tehran would continue its “defensive measures.” That quote reached us through a chain — Fox News Digital’s live file citing Iran International English, an opposition-aligned outlet, citing Iranian media — and we have not seen the original Iranian wording. Al Arabiya carries a parallel line: the US must meet its commitments for Hormuz to reopen, and Tehran is in no hurry.

The commitments in question belong to the Islamabad Memorandum, and three parties give it three legal statuses. The Hill calls it “the now-expired interim peace deal.” Tehran conditions the Hormuz understanding on US compliance with it. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi wrote on X on 25 August that “future management of the Strait and a permanent solution will follow in due course, as per Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum.” Around that ambiguity, mediation continues: Bloomberg reported on 25 August that Araghchi and Albusaidi discussed an “interim framework” for resuming shipping, per an Oman News Agency joint statement; CNN reported a proposed temporary route on 26 August and a visit to Tehran by Qatar’s prime minister. Trump, on 26 August, said the US was “not in a hurry.” AAA has US pump prices at roughly $4.07 a gallon on Sunday, against $2.98 two days before the war began.

Assessment: The two governments are not lying so much as describing different objects: Cooper is describing a swept channel, Gharibabadi a permissions regime. That gap is the negotiation. Both sides gain from leaving it unresolved — Washington can claim commerce restored, Tehran can claim a veto it does not have to exercise. The tell will be whether the interim Omani route is written to require Iranian coordination or to bypass it. Distrust the traffic numbers circulating this month: the available series disagree on vessel classes and channel, and the crude quotes conflict across benchmarks. The pump price is the one clean series, and it is the one that governs Washington’s patience.