Tehran made it clear today that it will insist on the fulfillment of the conditions it has set for reopening the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s rejection of an Iranian proposal submitted to Washington.
“Our conditions are clear, and any step forward toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz depends on these conditions being met. We will not back down from them,” emphasized Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s top diplomat, according to state-run IRIB television.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The Houthis attacked airports in Saudi Arabia
“We have never closed the door to diplomacy or negotiations, but at the same time, we have never renounced our rights,” the foreign minister added.
Iran announced last Friday that it had submitted a proposal to the U.S. to reopen the sea passage within seven days of its acceptance, adding that “the choice now rests” with Washington.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeskian assured that the proposal was drafted “in coordination” with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has the final say in the Islamic Republic regarding policy-making, and that a six-person team had been formed that would be able to “make decisions.”
“I reject their proposal,” the U.S. president told the press yesterday as he was leaving the White House, emphasizing that the Iranians want this agreement “because they are on the verge of losing.”
“Trump’s Inner Circle”
A few hours before confirming press reports by announcing that he was rejecting the Iranian proposal, the 80-year-old Republican (once again) posted a map on Truth Social in which the Strait of Hormuz is depicted as having been renamed the “Trump Strait.”
Iran, however, did not immediately shut the door on negotiations.
“We’ve seen the U.S. president’s initial reaction, but so far, we haven’t received anything from the mediator,” said Mr. Araghchi, adding, “We are waiting for the mediators to inform us of the final positions, and we will make a decision based on that.”
The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of the hydrocarbons consumed globally passed before the war, lies at the heart of the conflict that erupted when the U.S. and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic on February 28. Since then, Iran has claimed full control of the strait and has effectively closed it, while Washington, in retaliation, has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the Gulf.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, U.S. President Trump anticipates that his military’s airstrikes against the Islamic Republic will resume next month, following the midterm congressional elections early next month (November 3).
The U.S. military has not carried out airstrikes in Iran since September 1, when a series of strikes killed five people and wounded dozens more at a wedding in the southern part of the country, although commercial ships have been struck in the Strait of Hormuz.
As the elections approach—which are critical for his party, since Republicans are in danger of losing their majority in both chambers of the U.S. Congress— the Republican head of state is becoming increasingly unpopular due to the ever-rising cost of living in the U.S. and, in particular, the rise in fuel prices.
“Global Energy Security”
“Stability in this vital region is directly linked to global energy security,” Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat, Faisal bin Farhan, reminded the audience yesterday while addressing the UN General Assembly in New York.
The kingdom, the world’s largest exporter of crude oil, is calling for the protection of freedom of navigation and denounces the “failures” of the international community.
Before Donald Trump rejected the proposal, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi had emphasized that the measures the U.S. government is being asked to take are “not new,” as “everything was already provided for in the memorandum of understanding” signed in June by the presidents of the two countries.
That document theoretically paved the way for an end to the war in the Middle East, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and laying the groundwork for negotiations regarding the sensitive issue of Iran’s nuclear program. However, each side interpreted the text differently, and the agreement collapsed.
It called for an immediate end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, where the Israeli army is engaged in war with the Shiite Hezbollah movement.
Tehran is also demanding that the country’s assets frozen abroad be unfrozen and made available to it, and that economic sanctions be lifted, as the Iranian economy is under strain due to skyrocketing prices, which sparked large-scale protests in January before they were brutally suppressed. The country has had its overseas assets frozen since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
During an interview with Agence France-Presse on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Mouhambi, said that Iran’s conditions now include an end to hostilities in Yemen as well.
The latter has become the new front in the regional conflict, following the resumption in July, after years of relative calm, of hostilities between the Yemeni Ansar Allah rebel movement—also known by the surname of its leaders, the Houthis—which is aligned with Iran—on one side, and on the other, the internationally recognized government and its main backer, Riyadh.
In September, the movement launched an assault and, following deadly battles, consolidated its control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another strategically important passage connecting Europe to Asia via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
Source: APE-MPE
