Major General Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has characterized the U.S. response to Iran’s seven conditions for re-opening the Strait of Hormuz as “insufficient.”
“The Americans have responded to us, and we consider their response insufficient,” Rezaei said in an interview with Press TV on Sunday. “Naturally, they must resolve the ambiguities. We must see whether they can resolve the ambiguities so that the next stages can begin or not.”
Rezaei pointed out that Iran had held three rounds of negotiations with the United States, and in each round the Americans left the negotiating table unfinished and attacked Iran. “Therefore, we will no longer return to those past diplomatic models. Someone who signs an agreement himself and then withdraws from it must naturally be dealt with through a different method of diplomacy,” he said.
“We announced seven conditions to the Americans: if you do not implement these conditions, neither will the Strait of Hormuz open to you, nor will there be any negotiations,” he said. “The Americans have now given a response. In their response, they have accepted some of our conditions, and there are ambiguities regarding others.”
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, reiterated Monday morning that the U.S. must meet its commitments while asserting that the strait is part of Iran’s national security. “The Strait of Hormuz is part of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s national security, and Iran reserves the right to take the necessary measures to protect its national security,” he said during a press conference in Bandar Abbas in Hormuzgan Province, rejecting criticism of Iran’s control of the strategic waterway.
“These control measures will remain in place until the United States, as the main aggressor, concludes that military action is not the solution and returns to its commitments,” Gharibabadi said, adding that Iran’s declared arrangements were being strictly enforced in the strait. Under these arrangements, warships are barred from passing through, while commercial vessels may transit after completing the required coordination, he added. “At present, no vessel can pass through the strait without coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Vessels that attempt to do so without Iran’s coordination will violate the arrangements announced by Iran and face punitive measures by our Armed Forces,” he stressed.
