Iran will maintain its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz until the United States accepts “all” of its conditions, the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday, according to Iranian state television.
At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran and Washington are not engaged in direct talks and that Iran will not begin such negotiations while the US continues to violate an interim agreement signed in June.
Araghchi said messages are still being exchanged through intermediaries.
He reiterated Iran's position that an agreement between Tehran and Muscat regarding the Strait of Hormuz is in its “final stages”, but stressed that the strategic maritime passage will not be reopened yet.
According to comments carried by the Mehr news agency, the agreement will define new shipping routes that will be used once the United States fulfils other conditions required by Tehran for maritime traffic to resume through the strait.
Revolutionary Guards harden stance
The IRGC said Iran's current strategy is to keep the waterway closed until its demands are met.
“Our current strategy is to keep the Strait closed until the enemy accepts all of our conditions,” IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said, according to Iranian state television.
Mohebi added that the strategically important passage has effectively become:
“A theatre of war for us, rather than merely a shipping route.”
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy transit corridors, serving as a vital route for global oil and gas shipments.
Source: CNA
