President Donald Trump applied a new condition to talks with Iran on Monday, saying he would demand compensation from the country for past misdeeds after Tehran said compensation from the United States was needed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said an agreement with Oman to manage the waterway would not be enough to reopen it unless the United States meets the list of conditions. The exchanges suggested the two sides were no closer to reaching an agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, the new requirements appeared to dim prospects for a quick deal, despite optimism last week that a deal was close. Right now, catch up on recent headlines about what’s happening in the region: Announcing six high-level appointments, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei overhauled the country’s military leadership, including the appointment of Ali Abdollahi as chief of staff of the armed forces, Ahmad Vahidi as commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Ali Azmaei as commander of the IRGC Navy. Remember, Khamenei has not been seen in public since he became leader following the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an attack in late February 2026. The United States imposed the eighth round of sanctions on Iran this year. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said he will not give in to sanctions that only undermine chances for a diplomatic resolution to the war. Trump told reporters that the United States has swept the Strait of Hormuz for mines and that the US Navy has full control of the waterway. However, maritime traffic through the strategic waterway remained “moderate” over the past week and “weakened further over the weekend,” maritime intelligence firm Kpler said on Monday. CNN’s Christina Macfarlane spoke with Dina Esfandiary, Middle East leader at Bloomberg Economics, about the latest developments between the United States and Iran: Trump: Washington in ‘low-key’ negotiations with Iran Trump: Washington in ‘low-key’ talks with Iran 3:52 • Another Trump team peace initiative in the Middle East appears to have collided as well. After several rounds of talks between Israel and Lebanon, which began in April, an Israeli official tells CNN that there are no dates on the agenda for future meetings. • An Iranian photojournalist has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for allegedly acting in the interests of Israel and the United States after authorities searched her home and confiscated electronic devices, according to a US-based human rights group. CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq, Eyad Kourdi, Alejandra Jaramillo, Aida Karimi, Andrew Carey, Dana Karni, Kevin Liptak and Billy Stockwell contributed to this post.
