Iran says Strait of Hormuz will never return to pre-war status, claims understanding with Oman

Irans Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said that the Strait of Hormuz will never return to its prewar status following the USIsrael war on Iran asserting that Tehran and Oman have reached an understanding on overseeing the strategically important waterwayIn an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday Ghalibaf said that the understanding with Oman was part of Irans sevenpoint proposal to the US in order to end the eightmonth conflict which started after USIsraeli strikes killed Irans former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28 this yearThe Parliamentary Speaker signalled that the future arrangements governing the Strait of Hormuz would be different from those that existed before the war Rejecting the notion of unrestricted international access to the waterway Ghalibaf argued that its regulations fell under the jurisdiction of the countries bordering itThere are no lsquofree watersrsquo international waters there and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea does not apply to the strait hellip The regulations within the Strait of Hormuz are governed by the laws of the two littoral states that border it he told Al JazeeraOn the prospects of diplomatic negotiations with Washington Ghalibaf said Tehran had conveyed its response to the United States through Qatar which was acting as a mediator and had laid out seven conditions for entering peace talks He said Iran was now awaiting an official response from the US adding The ball is now in the American courtOutlining Tehrans demands the Iranian Parliament Speaker said they included lifting the USimposed naval blockade and sanctions releasing frozen Iranian funds ending hostilities on all fronts and making an explicit announcement that the war had endedAccording to Ghalibaf these demands were part of the 14point Memorandum of Understanding signed in June and their implementation was necessary before Iran could enter negotiations with the United States He indicated that Tehran remained open to an agreement if Washington adhered to the understandings already reached and avoided making additional demandsIf America limits itself to what has been agreed upon without making excessive demands or engaging in behaviour that breeds distrust then naturally reaching an agreement is possible he told Al Jazeera However Ghalibaf identified the lack of trust between the two countries as the principal obstacle to a diplomatic breakthroughWhat stands in the way of an agreement is our lack of trust in the United States he said The chief Iranian negotiator also spoke about possible diplomatic efforts involving Russia claiming that US officials had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate direct negotiations with Tehran during a visit to MoscowWarning against any renewed American military action Ghalibaf said US President Donald Trump would face another defeat if Washington launched fresh attacks against Iran He also pointed to potential political pressure on the US administration from the new Congress which is scheduled to take office in JanuaryGhalibaf further said Iran was determined to move beyond a prolonged situation of no war and no peace stressing the need for a sustainable deterrent capability including military capabilitiesHis remarks come as Tehran links the resumption of negotiations with Washington to the fulfilment of its stated conditions while also signalling that any postwar arrangement would involve a changed framework for managing the Strait of HormuzThe Iranian Parliament Speakers comments on the waterway underscore its central place in Tehrans proposed postwar arrangements with Iran maintaining that the strategic passage would not revert to the conditions that prevailed before the conflictThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever