Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) says the Islamic Republic will maintain control of all traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz until a negotiated end to the US-Israeli-imposed war is achieved, Press TV reported.
The SNSC’s secretariat issued a statement on Saturday regarding the state of play in negotiations with the United States, mediated by Pakistan, to end the ongoing war, which has temporarily been halted after a ceasefire was announced on April 8.
The ceasefire will expire on Wednesday. A first round of talks in Islamabad failed to produce an agreement, with Iranian officials blaming the US side for putting forward excessive demands and shifting its position at the negotiating table.
One sticking point was Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, which the Islamic Republic closed to shipping linked to the aggressors and their allies shortly after the war began on February 28.
Noting that most US military logistics in the Persian Gulf pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran considers a threat to its national security and regional stability, the SNSC said Iran will continue to maintain oversight and control of all traffic through the waterway until the war permanently comes to an end.
Iran will enforce this by obtaining full data on all transiting vessels, issuing transit permits according to regulations tailored to wartime conditions, collecting fees for security, safety, and environmental protection services, and mandating specific navigation routes, the statement said.
“Should the enemy attempt to disrupt shipping or impose measures such as a naval blockade, the Islamic Republic of Iran will consider that a violation of the ceasefire and will prevent the conditional and limited opening of the Strait of Hormuz,” it added.
The SNSC noted that Iran had conditionally reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping on Friday after the US and the Israeli regime accepted to cease hostilities on all fronts, including a halt to Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which was a key Iranian precondition for accepting the temporary ceasefire.
bd-pratidin/GR
