US-Iranian tug-of-war over the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear file

⏱️ Timeline

1. 7 Oct 2026, 19:39 Iranian authorities announced their adherence to complete control by the armed forces over the Strait of Hormuz and their refusal to give up the right to uranium enrichment, in response to statements by US officials saying Tehran had lost its grip on the waterway. US Vice President J.D. Vance conditioned ending the conflict, now in its eighth month, on a substantive and real reduction in enrichment capacity, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking from Athens, described Iran's economy as collapsing.
2. 8 Oct 2026, 02:37 The Iranian nuclear file returned to the forefront of the dispute between Washington and Tehran, with a US demand for a substantive reduction in uranium enrichment capacities, an Iranian refusal to concede the right to enrichment, and Tehran's condition that sanctions be lifted before any direct talks. This coincided with tension in the Strait of Hormuz, where Washington affirmed that navigation had returned to normal while the Revolutionary Guard denied losing control of the waterway; analysts estimate that any final agreement could take months amid the complexity of regional files.
3. 8 Oct 2026, 03:08 US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied the reports promoted by Tehran about imposing complete control over the Strait of Hormuz and closing it to international navigation, confirming that the waterway remains open and that transit traffic is proceeding normally, with about 20 million barrels of crude oil passing through daily. US President Donald Trump said US forces had tightened their grip on the strait after intensive military operations.

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