Level 1 — Absolute Beginner

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow sea road near Iran and Oman. Many oil ships use it. Because of the war, the strait is closed now.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is an important leader in Iran. On Wednesday he spoke on television. He said the strait will never be the same as before the war.

He said Iran and Oman have a new plan for the ships. He also said Iran sent seven demands to America. Now Iran waits for an answer.

President Trump spoke on the same day. He said America won the war. But the war is not over, and the price of oil went up.

strait

A narrow piece of sea between two areas of land.

narrow

Not wide.

oil

A thick black liquid from under the ground, used for fuel.

war

Fighting between countries.

leader

A person who is the head of a group or country.

plan

An idea about what to do in the future.

demands

Things that someone says must happen.

price

How much money something costs.

Level 2 — Elementary

Iran's top negotiator says the Strait of Hormuz will never go back to the way it was before the war. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also the speaker of Iran's parliament, said this in an interview with the Al Jazeera network on Wednesday, November 11.

The strait is the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman. Before the war, about one fifth of the world's oil passed through it on tankers. Ghalibaf said that Iran and Oman have now reached an understanding about how ships will move through the strait in the future.

He also said that Iran has sent its answer to Washington through Qatar, which carries messages between the two sides. The answer includes seven conditions. Iran wants the United States to end its blockade of Iranian ports, remove sanctions, release frozen money and announce clearly that the war is over. "The ball is now in the American court," Ghalibaf said.

On the same day, President Donald Trump spoke at a Veterans Day ceremony near Washington. "We won. It's just a question of when we end it," he said, and he promised "total victory." Oil prices rose by about two percent during the day.

negotiator

A person who talks with the other side to try to reach an agreement.

parliament

The group of people who make the laws of a country.

interview

A conversation in which a reporter asks someone questions.

waterway

A river, canal or narrow sea that ships travel along.

tankers

Very large ships that carry oil or gas.

conditions

Things that must happen before an agreement is possible.

blockade

The use of ships or soldiers to stop goods from entering or leaving a place.

sanctions

Rules that stop trade with a country in order to punish it.

Level 3 — Intermediate

The Strait of Hormuz "will never return" to its pre-war status, Iran's chief negotiator said on Wednesday, in remarks that suggest Tehran intends to keep a lasting say over one of the world's most important shipping lanes even if the fighting ends. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, made the statement in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Ghalibaf said that Iran and Oman, the two countries that face each other across the strait, had reached an understanding on how it will be supervised. According to the Russian news agency TASS, he referred to agreed shipping corridors and a traffic separation scheme. He gave no details, and Oman has not publicly described any such arrangement.

On the stalled diplomacy, Ghalibaf said Tehran had delivered a clear reply to Washington through Qatari mediators and had received no official response. That reply contains seven conditions, among them an end to the American naval blockade, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian funds, a halt to fighting on every front and an explicit declaration that the war is over. He insisted these steps must come before any negotiation begins. "The ball is now in the American court," he said.

He also warned that President Donald Trump would "face another defeat" if he resumed the war, and predicted pressure from the new Congress that takes office in January, after Democrats won both chambers in last week's midterm elections.

Trump struck a very different note at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. "We won. It's just a question of when we end it," he said, promising "total victory" without offering a timetable. Brent crude was trading about 2.3 percent higher, near 93.60 dollars a barrel, late on Wednesday.

pre-war

Existing or happening before a war began.

shipping lanes

Regular routes that ships follow across the sea.

supervised

Watched and controlled by someone in charge.

stalled

Stopped making progress.

mediators

People or countries that help two sides in a dispute to reach an agreement.

frozen

(Of money) blocked so that its owner cannot use it.

explicit

Stated clearly and directly, leaving no doubt.

timetable

A plan that shows when things are expected to happen.

Level 4 — Advanced

Iran's chief negotiator has declared that the Strait of Hormuz "will never return" to its pre-war status, the clearest indication yet that Tehran regards its wartime grip on the waterway not as a bargaining chip to be surrendered at the table but as a permanent strategic gain. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker who has led Iran's side in the on-again, off-again contacts with Washington, set out the position in an interview with Al Jazeera broadcast on Wednesday.

The substance of the claim lies in what Ghalibaf called an understanding with Oman, the sultanate on the strait's southern shore. TASS quoted him as saying the two governments had agreed on shipping corridors and a traffic separation scheme. If that is accurate, it would amount to a bilateral regime for a passage that maritime law has long treated as an international strait open to transit. Muscat has not confirmed it, and Ghalibaf supplied no text, so the assertion should be read as Tehran's account rather than an established fact.

On diplomacy he was at once conciliatory and unyielding. Peace, he said, remains the priority, and Iran has conveyed a detailed reply through Qatar. But the seven conditions attached to it, including an end to the American blockade, sanctions relief, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, a ceasefire on all fronts and a formal declaration that the war has ended, are framed as prerequisites for talks, not as their agenda. Washington, he said, has yet to answer officially. "The ball is now in the American court." One of his advisers separately dismissed reports of a meeting with Vice President JD Vance in Qatar as "lies" intended to push oil prices down.

Ghalibaf coupled this with a warning that Donald Trump would "face another defeat" should he resume hostilities, and with a pointed reference to the Democratic Congress that will be seated in January. The calculation is transparent: Tehran believes time and American domestic politics now favor it.

Trump, speaking at Arlington on Veterans Day, offered the mirror image. "We won. It's just a question of when we end it," he said, vowing "total victory" while announcing neither a settlement nor a withdrawal. Markets, forced to weigh two victory speeches against a strait that remains shut, pushed Brent up roughly 2.3 percent to about 93.60 dollars a barrel.

bargaining chip

Something a side holds that it can give up in exchange for what it wants in a negotiation.

sultanate

A country ruled by a sultan.

bilateral

Involving two countries or two sides.

transit

The act of passing through a place on the way to somewhere else.

conciliatory

Intended to reduce anger and make agreement easier.

unyielding

Refusing to change a position or give way.

prerequisites

Things that must exist or be done before something else can happen.