Hormuz Strait will ‘never return’ to pre-war status, Iran’s Ghalibaf says

Detailed summary

Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator says Tehran is waiting for an official US response to its seven conditions.

Iran’s Ghalibaf tells Al Jazeera the ball is in US’s court on talks to end war

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator, has told Al Jazeera that the Strait of Hormuz will “never return” to its status prior to the US-Israel war on Iran.

In an exclusive interview published on Wednesday, Ghalibaf said Iran and Oman reached an understanding to oversee the critical waterway as part of Tehran’s seven-point proposal to end the eight-month conflict.

“There are no ‘free waters’ [international waters] there, and the 1982 [UN Convention on the Law of the Sea] does not apply to the strait … The regulations within the Strait of Hormuz are governed by the laws of the two littoral states that border it,” he said.

Ghalibaf said Tehran provided a clear response to the US through a Qatari mediator that included its seven conditions for peace talks, adding that Iran is waiting for an official response.

Iran’s conditions, as outlined by the chief negotiator, include lifting the US-imposed naval blockade and sanctions, the release of Iranian frozen funds, ending fighting on all fronts, and an explicit announcement of an end to the war.

He said these demands were part of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed in June and their implementation was necessary before entering negotiations with the US.

“If 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 said.

“What stands in the way of an agreement is our lack of trust in the United States.”

Opening of the article, excerpted from Al Jazeera. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.