Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow sea road. Many ships carry oil through it. Now it is mostly closed.
Iran says the strait will stay closed. It wants the United States to agree to seven conditions first.
A tanker was hit near the strait. It was the third one. Iran says the talks are not worth much now.
President Trump says he will decide soon. He says there is an easy way and a hard way.
- strait
- A narrow area of sea between two pieces of land.
- tanker
- A big ship that carries oil.
- oil
- A thick liquid used to make fuel.
- closed
- Not open. People or ships cannot go through.
- condition
- Something you must agree to before a deal is made.
- talks
- Meetings where people try to agree on something.
- decide
- To choose what to do.
- war
- A fight between countries with weapons.
Level 2 - Elementary
The Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked for more than seven months. The disruption began after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the strait will stay closed until Washington accepts seven conditions. They are based on a memorandum of understanding signed in June.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait could reopen within seven days if those conditions are met. He also warned that Iran is more prepared than before if America attacks again.
Iran says the talks are meaningless after a third tanker was hit near the strait. President Trump says a decision on Iran is close, either the easy way or the hard way.
- blocked
- Stopped so that nothing can pass.
- disruption
- A problem that stops something from working normally.
- memorandum
- A written agreement or note between two sides.
- reopen
- To open again.
- warn
- To tell someone that something bad may happen.
- prepared
- Ready for something.
- conditions
- Things that one side demands before it agrees to a deal.
- strikes
- Attacks from the air.
Level 3 - Intermediate
Iran has turned the Strait of Hormuz into its main bargaining chip. Its parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the waterway will stay closed until the United States accepts seven conditions derived from the June memorandum of understanding that ended the first phase of the war.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi offered a carrot alongside the stick. He said the strait could reopen within seven days once Tehran's terms are met, but he also warned that Iran is more prepared than before if Washington resumes military action.
The two sides remain far apart. Iran rejects American nuclear demands and insists the question of the blockade be settled first. According to Tehran, the latest American counterproposal largely repeats Washington's earlier positions on denuclearization.
The mood darkened after a third tanker was hit near the strait, and Iranian media quoted officials calling the talks meaningless. President Trump, who has said a decision is imminent, framed the choice as the easy way or the hard way. The strait has been largely disrupted for more than seven months, since the US and Israeli strikes of February 28.
- bargaining chip
- Something one side holds that it can trade for concessions.
- derived
- Taken or developed from something else.
- carrot and stick
- A mix of rewards and threats used to get a result.
- resume
- To start again after a pause.
- denuclearization
- The removal of nuclear weapons or the ability to make them.
- counterproposal
- An offer made in reply to an earlier offer.
- imminent
- About to happen very soon.
- blockade
- The closing of a place to stop goods or people from moving in or out.
Level 4 - Advanced
For more than seven months, the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of the world's seaborne oil once flowed, has been largely choked off. Tehran's latest position hardens that leverage: Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says the waterway stays shut until Washington accepts seven conditions grounded in the June memorandum of understanding.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi paired the ultimatum with an incentive, suggesting the strait could reopen within seven days if Iran's terms are satisfied, while cautioning that the country is better prepared than before should hostilities resume.
The sticking point is sequencing. Iran rejects American nuclear demands and wants the blockade question resolved first, and it characterizes Washington's latest counterproposal as a restatement of earlier positions on denuclearization. Each side is therefore asking the other to move before it will.
The diplomatic stalemate coincided with a third tanker strike near the strait, after which Tehran dismissed the talks as meaningless. President Trump, who maintains that a decision is imminent, has offered only a binary: the easy way or the hard way. With the war now well into its eighth month, the cost of waiting is measured in shipping insurance, energy prices and risk.
- choked off
- Strongly restricted so that very little can pass.
- leverage
- Power to influence what another side does.
- ultimatum
- A final demand that carries a threat if refused.
- hostilities
- Acts of war or open fighting.
- sequencing
- The order in which steps are taken.
- stalemate
- A situation in which neither side can make progress.
- binary
- Offering only two options.
- grounded in
- Based firmly on.
.jpg%3Fwidth%3D800&w=3840&q=75)
Talk about this article with KatePractice this story's vocabulary in a real spoken conversation with your AI tutor