The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will depend on the United States accepting Tehran's conditions and returning to the agreement previously reached between the two countries, according to Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohibi.
Speaking at a news conference in Iran's central Isfahan province, Mohibi said the strait could reopen under the terms of the understanding if Washington stopped obstructing the process and returned to the agreement. Otherwise, he said, the waterway would not reopen under any circumstances.
A temporary transit route does not mean the strait has reopened
Mohibi said Iran had begun talks with Oman about a month ago and that the two sides had reached understandings they could accept. He said the talks had produced agreements on the allocation of waters in the strait and the distribution of transit revenues generated by the waterway.
The Iranian spokesman accused Washington of obstructing the process and claimed that the US stance had delayed an agreement.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also announced on Tuesday that Iran and Oman had agreed on a temporary, 7-mile-wide transit route in the Strait of Hormuz. Gharibabadi said the arrangement did not mean the strait had reopened.
Mohibi claims the strait is under Iranian control
Mohibi claimed that the Strait of Hormuz was under Iran's control and that there were currently no enemy military vessels in its waters. Saying that all hostile vessels were at least 400 kilometers from the waterway, Mohibi stated that no vessel could pass through the strait without Tehran's explicit permission.
Talks to be held on a permanent route
Gharibabadi said new talks would be held to determine a permanent route and that the reopening of the strait would remain conditional on Washington fulfilling its commitments under the Islamabad agreement.
Iran and the United States signed a 14-point agreement in Islamabad in mid-June, with Pakistan and Qatar acting as mediators. The text included provisions on ending the conflict, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the US naval blockade and launching a 60-day negotiation process.
Tehran maintains that Washington has failed to implement key provisions of the agreement and links the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to the United States fulfilling its commitments.
