- Iran warns of closing Strait of Hormuz if US naval blockade continues
- Iran states passage through Strait will require Iranian authorization and follow designated routes
- US President Trump insists blockade remains until Iran deal is complete, expects quick resolution
Iran's Parliament Speaker, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, has warned Donald Trump that Tehran will close the Strait of Hormuz if the US continues its naval blockade, shortly after the US President said the blockade will remain in "full force".
Ghalibaf, in a post on X, asserted that the passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be conducted based on the "designated route" and with "Iranian authorisation". "With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open," he said.
This comes hours after Iran's announcement that Hormuz is "fully open" for all commercial vessels for the remaining period of the ceasefire. "In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran", Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
Responding to this, Trump clarified that the naval blockade of the strait will remain intact until their "transaction" with Iran is complete. However, he claimed that the process will be concluded "very quickly" as the sticking points have already been negotiated.
Trump also warned that the US may start "dropping bombs again" if the deal is not reached. "Maybe I won't extend it, but the blockade (on Iranian ports) is going to remain. So you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we have to start dropping bombs again," he said.
Ghalibaf to this, said, "They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either. Whether the Strait is open or closed and the regulations governing it will be determined by the field, not by social media.
The Iranian Parliament Speaker alleged that Trump made "seven claims in one hour" - all of which were "false". He, however, did not note what exactly the claims are.
Hormuz a nuclear deterrent?
The Strait of Hormuz is the chokepoint that carries around a fifth of the world's oil supply. Its closure for nearly two months amid the Iran war affected crude oil prices and supply across many countries. Now that Iran has fully reopened the Strait, it is unclear when the commercial ships will gain confidence to resume operations, as some claim they are waiting for "clearer security guarantees", the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the report, experts believe that the Strait of Hormuz now functions "almost like a nuclear deterrent".
Trump vs Iran on enriched uranium
Donald Trump, on Friday, said that the US and Iran would jointly remove "nuclear dust" - the enriched uranium - from Tehran's nuclear sites with excavators under any peace deal, before the material is transferred to US territory.
"Somebody said, how are we going to get the nuclear dust? We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators," he said.
However, Iran's foreign ministry said the country's stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred "anywhere" - denying Trump's claim. "Iran's enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere. Transfer of Iran's enriched uranium to the US has never been raised in negotiations," it said.
