Iran war mediators focus on reopening Strait of Hormuz

DUBAI — Mediators in the Iran war are stepping up efforts to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, with Tehran agreeing to draw up a list of conditions to restore normal traffic after ⁠a Qatari emissary pressed the Iranians to respect freedom of navigation. With the U.S. having disengaged from talks in favour of an economic pressure campaign, the prime minister of Qatar, a U.S. ally, met senior Iranian leaders in Tehran on Thursday, stressing the importance of returning to the pre-war status of open shipping through an international waterway. Qatar and Pakistan helped broker a memorandum of understanding in June that led to a ceasefire but that quickly unravelled due to disagreements between Iran and the U.S. over the strait, which handled 20% of pre-war global oil supplies.