Iran has rejected the latest US response to its proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz as "insufficient", keeping the chokepoint that carried a fifth of the world's oil and LNG before the war closed to commercial traffic with no negotiating track in sight.

Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, delivered the verdict on Sunday, Oct. 11, according to state media quoted by Reuters. "In their response, they have accepted some of our conditions, while others remain unclear," Rezaei said, adding that Iran is "no longer in the process of responding to the Americans".

The standoff extends a shutdown that has already forced carriers, tanker operators and LNG exporters to reroute or halt flows through the waterway, the conduit for roughly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before hostilities began.

What did Iran propose?

Tehran tabled its plan during the UN General Assembly: the Strait of Hormuz could reopen and normal maritime passage resume within seven days, provided the United States met seven conditions. Washington later replied through Qatari intermediaries, who along with other mediators have shuttled messages between the two capitals in an effort to end the conflict.

Rezaei was unambiguous about Iran's terms. "We presented seven conditions to the Americans and clearly stated that the Strait of Hormuz would not be opened to them, and no negotiations would take place, until these conditions are met," he said.

He called on Washington to clarify the issues that remain unclear to Tehran. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the exchange.

Why is the diplomatic track faltering?

The Oct. 11 rejection is the second collapse in weeks. In late September, Tehran said it had received a US response to an earlier proposal aimed at resurrecting the collapsed Gulf ceasefire — days after President Donald Trump said he had rejected that proposal outright.

The shuttle through Doha and other mediators continues, but Rezaei's statement that Iran has stopped responding to the Americans narrows the immediate room for a breakthrough. For shipowners and cargo interests, that signals continued exposure in the Gulf: two more tankers were struck in the Strait of Hormuz as US forces disabled a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman, extending a sharp escalation in attacks on commercial shipping.

What does this mean for shipping?

The commercial consequences compound with each round of failed diplomacy:

• Hormuz remains shut to normal passage, blocking the pre-war route for about a fifth of global oil and LNG.
• Tanker and cargo-ship attacks continue, with two more tankers hit and a cargo vessel disabled by US fire.
• The seven-day reopening mechanism stays off the table until Washington satisfies Iran's conditions.
• Mediation via Qatar and other parties persists, but Tehran has paused substantive replies.

The conflict began at the end of February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and the strait has been a casualty ever since. With Iran now refusing further responses and Washington publicly silent, freight markets face a prolonged period in which Gulf-origin energy cargoes depend on rerouting, and any insurance-worthy transit through Hormuz remains contingent on a diplomatic reversal that, on current statements, neither side is close to delivering.