Donald Blome: we will not let the Islamic Republic hold the world economy hostage

Donald Blome, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, told the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain on Sunday 1 November 2026 that the United States will not allow the Islamic Republic to hold the region and the world economy hostage. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz must return to normal, he said, and Washington's patience is not endless.

Blome said the US has extended its hand for negotiations and the channels of dialogue remain open and active, but that Washington has also been prepared to take a different path. He added that the US is consulting with regional allies and with the countries attending the Manama meeting that face similar threats. His remarks came a day after Arab states and Britain condemned the Islamic Republic's attacks at the same conference.

The Islamic Republic's seven conditions for reopening Hormuz

On the other side, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Islamic Republic's Supreme National Security Council, has said there will be neither talks nor a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz until Tehran's seven conditions are accepted. They are: lifting the sanctions imposed after the collapse of the Islamabad memorandum in June–July; reducing the US military presence in the region; restoring the oil waivers of May–June; releasing frozen assets, including in Qatar; recognising a new shipping route through Hormuz proposed with Oman; closing all other routes; and ending the war on all fronts, especially Israel's attacks on Lebanon. Rezaei also threatened that, if attacked, the Islamic Republic would respond with "new weapons".

Abbas Araghchi, the Islamic Republic's foreign minister, also said consultations with Qatari mediators over a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are continuing but have not yet reached a final result. Qatar has proposed shortening the plan's implementation period from five days to two; Araghchi tied its implementation to US acceptance of the same conditions.

Washington's position

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier said Trump has not yet decided on a new strike on the Islamic Republic and prefers a diplomatic solution. Donald Trump also said on Saturday night that the Islamic Republic cannot be trusted in negotiations and that dealing with the one or two remaining sites in Iran would take 10 minutes.

In Manama the US said its patience over the closed Strait of Hormuz is not endless, while the Islamic Republic has tied a reopening to seven conditions.