Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran
Tehran, Oct 12: Iran on Monday dismissed US claims that it had lost its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, warning that security in the strategic waterway would not return as long as Washington continued the conflict.
Addressing a weekly press conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected US President Donald Trump’s assertions about the Strait of Hormuz, saying American claims did not reflect the realities on the ground.
“The Americans can keep saying that Iran has lost its leverage, but we will continue doing our work,” Baghaei was quoted as saying by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
He said markets followed their own rules and were not influenced by such claims. The spokesperson blamed the situation on the “actions and aggression” of the US and Israel, asserting that Iran had taken measures in accordance with international law.
“As long as the US continues the war, security will not return to this waterway,” Baghaei said, adding that Iran was not pleased with the situation but maintained that Washington had created problems for the region and the world.
On the ongoing exchanges with Washington, Baghaei said messages continued to be conveyed through mediators. He said the seven points under discussion included lifting the blockade, halting the war on all fronts and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
“Whatever was included in the Islamabad memorandum of understanding remains in place,” he said, adding that the US had imposed fresh sanctions in the meantime, which Tehran said must also be lifted, Tasnim reported.
Baghaei acknowledged that the proposals put forward so far were insufficient. He said Tehran was reviewing the issues raised by the US and would convey its response to the mediators after completing the review.
Separately, Iran’s Acting Defence Minister Brigadier General Majid Ibn al-Reza warned that those deliberately promoting a civilisational confrontation must take responsibility for its dangerous consequences, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported.
Referring to recent remarks by US officials concerning Iran and its civilisation, he said turning historical and cultural differences into grounds for political and military confrontation amounted to a dangerous miscalculation.
Promoting civilisational confrontation was like playing with fire, Ibn al-Reza warned, adding that those who ignited such a confrontation could neither control its spread nor shield themselves from its consequences, IRNA reported.
He made the remarks during a meeting with heads of industrial organisations affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics.
Ibn al-Reza said Iran would not allow threats or humiliation to undermine its national identity or independence.