Iran has warned that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the United States meets seven conditions agreed in a June interim memorandum, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said.
Qalibaf, who is also Iran’s top negotiator, said Tehran had proposed at the United Nations General Assembly that normal maritime passage could resume within seven days if the conditions were fulfilled.
“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,” he said.
He added that Washington “must understand that the period of dragging out the (diplomatic) process and dictating one-sided demands is over”.
The United States responded to Iran’s proposal last week through Qatari intermediaries. Iran’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that it had communicated its broad position on the response through mediators, but that further points still needed to be sent to Washington.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the American proposals were broadly consistent with Washington’s previous position, particularly on Iran’s nuclear programme. “We told them our focus in this stage is the issue of the Strait of Hormuz and the return to security in this waterway requires clear steps from the US,” he said.
Baghaei denied that Iran had offered inspections of its nuclear facilities by the UN nuclear watchdog in return for sanctions relief, saying Tehran had not entered nuclear discussions with Washington.
The document under discussion sets out a seven-day trust-building period intended to restore an expanded version of the June memorandum, including specific measures relating to Iran’s nuclear programme. An official briefed on the talks said the dispute was focused on the order in which the measures should be implemented, rather than their substance.
Qatar has been relaying messages between Washington and Tehran as efforts continue to end the conflict and reopen the waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the war began at the end of February with US and Israeli attacks.
The June memorandum helped produce a short ceasefire and included provisions concerning both the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme.
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told foreign ambassadors and diplomats in Tehran that Iran hoped the United States would choose diplomacy, but was ready to respond if Washington resumed military action.
“If they again move towards military solutions, we are more prepared than before and will take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves,” Araqchi said.
Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia also told the Fars news agency that Iran would increase the range of its missiles.
