In recent weeks, the Trump administration has repeatedly signaled that a deal to open the strait could be close, only to have Iran deny that talks are under way. It was unclear whether the latest flurry of negotiations would yield a more lasting arrangement.
"Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports," the U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. U.S. actions would be tied to Iran's implementation of its commitments, he said.
U.S. Central Command said on Saturday it had allowed more than 30 ships through for humanitarian aid since the current blockade started. U.S. forces have turned away 53 ships, disabled two vessels and boarded two others, Central Command said in a statement on social media.
Prices of food and other necessities have increased rapidly in Iran since the conflict began in February. At a news conference on Saturday, Pezeshkian blamed the U.S. for causing difficulties in importing basic goods.
He did not mention any blockade exceptions for humanitarian aid.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards, who have targeted the ships, also said on Saturday that reopening the strait depended on Washington accepting Iran's conditions and was not related to the Iran-Oman negotiations.
"Whenever the United States accepts Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will certainly be reopened," said Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency.
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman to help end five months of war between Iran and the U.S. would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the strait, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.
U.S. officials have repeatedly said they would never agree to Iran controlling access to the world's most important trade route for energy supplies. It was not clear whether they had sought to change the parameters of the deal.
Iran has used the hostilities to justify charging a toll on oil tankers. That, and the firing on ships that attempt to cross the strait without its permission, has badly disrupted global shipments, causing energy prices to surge and fueling inflation.
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