Hormuz shipping remains muted as Iran-US talks stall - Reuters

An entire nation is being humiliated by the leadership in Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday.

“An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards,” he said, speaking to students in Marsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia.

He added that Iranian officials were negotiating with the US “very skillfully” and appeared stronger than previously thought.

Merz also said the Strait of Hormuz had been partially mined and added that he did not see what exit strategy the United States was pursuing in the war.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that It was too early to drop sanctions on Iran.

Speaking in Berlin, von der Leyen said the sanctions were imposed over Iran’s suppression of its own population.

“We first have to see a change, a fundamental change in Iran for the dropping of sanctions,” she said.

Iran Trade Promotion Organization said in a directive on Monday that the export of steel slabs and sheets were banned until May 30 as the country’s steel industry faced pressure following US-Israeli strikes.

The secretary of Iran’s steel producers’ association had earlier said work was underway on an urgent plan to import steel slabs and hot-rolled sheets.

He also urged industries to manage their raw material demand for the next two months.

Any negotiations with the United States would be aimed at Washington accepting the Islamic Republic’s conditions, an Iranian lawmaker said on Monday.

Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, said the United States had no choice but to accept the terms if it wanted to act “rationally.”

He said Iran’s 10 conditions included recognizing its right to enrichment, paying compensation for damages, and accepting the country’s management of the Strait of Hormuz.

Rezaei said Tehran would not retreat from those positions, adding that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz would not return to its previous status.

Iran’s internet blackout entered its 59th day on Monday after 1,392 hours of near-total disconnection from the outside world, internet monitor NetBlocks said.

“The prolonged shutdown continues to cast a veil of digital darkness over human rights violations on the ground,” it added in a post on X.