After establishing a new legal regime in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will use force if necessary to control it, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
“We cannot control the Strait of Hormuz militarily forever, but if necessary, the military will intervene. The sword will always be raised over the Strait of Hormuz“, he said on Iranian television.
Araghchi noted that Iran is holding talks with Oman on establishing a new regime for governing the Strait of Hormuz and has begun consultations with other countries for which the strait is important. Araghchi cited China, which actively trades with Middle Eastern countries, as an example.
The Iranian Foreign Minister also announced the upcoming publication of a joint statement on the management of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking about the timing of the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States, Araghchi did not rule out the possibility that this could happen in the next few days.
Earlier, he announced that the first agreement between Iran and the United States contains provisions related to shipping.
This will be the first stage of an agreement in which the parties will also agree on the country's reconstruction and economic development. In addition, according to Araghchi, the document defines a mechanism for unblocking Iranian assets and an economic plan to compensate the Islamic Republic.
A final agreement will then be reached. It will concern the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions. At the same time, Iran insists that the issue of highly enriched uranium be resolved on its territory, the minister stressed.
Iran is ready to reduce highly enriched uranium, but only on its own territory, according to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“Our position on highly enriched uranium, that is, to 60%, has always been that if they want to reduce it, it can only be done on Iranian territory,“ he said on state television.
Araghchi earlier said that all issues related to Iran's nuclear program would be raised in the second phase of negotiations with the United States, which will last 60 days.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has agreed to release at least $10 billion in frozen Iranian assets and has already transferred approximately $3 billion of these funds to the Islamic Republic, it announced Reuters.
According to two sources, “the UAE has agreed to release a total of $10 billion and more than $3 billion of that has already been transferred“. The agency specified that the decision to release the assets was made in exchange for an end to Iran's attacks on the UAE. They said that the UAE could release assets worth up to $20 billion.
A representative of the Emirates noted that the country's authorities are striving to help reduce tensions in the region and establish peace.