What They Mean by Open

Iran and the United States have each demanded that the Strait of Hormuz be "open." The demand looks like a shared objective. It is a semantic trap. Iran's definition of an open strait means IRGC-managed traffic: vessels obtain Iranian clearance before passing, pay fees framed as service charges, and transit through Iran's unrecognized traffic separation scheme inside Iranian territorial waters. The US definition means the pre-war arrangement: no Iranian authority over commercial passage, no fees, no IRGC approval required. Both definitions have been stated publicly and repeatedly by senior officials on each side. The ceasefire extension currently under negotiation uses the same word without resolving which definition governs — and that ambiguity is precisely what Iran's strategy requires.