The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until Iran’s seven conditions under a June interim agreement with the United States are fulfilled, Iranian state media quoted parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as saying.
Iran submitted a proposal at the United Nations General Assembly that would allow the strategic waterway to reopen and normal maritime traffic to resume within seven days of the conditions being met. Washington responded to the offer last week through Qatari intermediaries.
- Advertisement -
“The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely clear and firm, and the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until our seven conditions, based on the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, are met,” Mr Qalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, was quoted as saying.
He said Washington “must understand that the period of dragging out the (diplomatic) process and dictating one-sided demands is over”.
“The Americans’ propositions are more or less in line with their previous positions, specifically on the nuclear issue. We told them our focus at this stage is the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, and returning security to this waterway requires clear steps from the US,” spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Mr Baghaei also rejected claims that Tehran had offered to permit inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog in return for relief from US sanctions. Iran, he said, had not entered nuclear negotiations with Washington.
An official briefed on the talks said last week that the document being circulated proposed a seven-day confidence-building period designed to restore an expanded version of the memorandum of understanding reached in June. The plan includes specific measures concerning Iran’s nuclear programme.
The official said the dispute was focused on the order in which the measures would be carried out, rather than on the measures themselves.
Qatar has been relaying messages between Washington and Tehran as it seeks to help end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that carried a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the war began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran at the end of February.
The June memorandum of understanding produced a short-lived ceasefire and contained provisions covering both the strait and Iran’s nuclear programme.
In a separate meeting, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told foreign ambassadors and diplomats in Tehran that Iran hoped the US would pursue diplomacy. He warned, however, that Tehran was ready to respond if Washington once again opted for military action.
On Thursday, sources told Reuters that Iran was preparing a broader and more powerful response should Washington restart large-scale military attacks.
“If they again move towards military solutions, we are more prepared than before and will take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves,” Mr Araqchi said.
Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia told Fars news agency that Iran would increase the range of its missiles.
