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Araghchi: No talks as long as US violates Islamabad understanding
Top security chief sets six conditions for reopening Strait of Hormuz
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday stressed that Iran will not engage in new negotiations with the United States as long as it keeps violating a war-ending memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two sides.
Araghchi made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony titled Muharram and Ashura in the Documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying there are currently no talks underway between Tehran and Washington, but messages are being exchanged through mediators.
“Some intermediary countries continue to make efforts to create the conditions for a resumption of negotiations. From our perspective, however, negotiations cannot resume unless and until the US ceases its violations of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and takes appropriate steps to remedy the breaches that have occurred,” he added.
The US and the Israeli regime launched their illegal war of aggression against Iran on February 28 by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders.
However, forty days later on April 8, the enemies were forced to accept a ceasefire amid Iran’s resistance, successful retaliatory operations, and powerful grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran and Washington signed the Islamabad MoU on June 17, but the US effectively violated the agreement by striking Iran.
In response, the Iranian armed forces have conducted devastating attacks against strategic American targets across West Asia.
Araghchi was also asked about Iran’s ongoing talks with Oman regarding new arrangements for maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which has remained under Iranian control since the early days of the criminal US-Israeli military assault.
He said that the discussions, which are now in their final stages, will result in the replacement of the existing routes with new ones and that specialists are working on relevant charts and maps.
“This does not mean that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened. An agreement on these arrangements may be reached, but the reopening of the strategic waterway is contingent upon the fulfillment of other conditions that have already been conveyed to the US side through intermediaries,” he asserted.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr on Saturday laid out a list of demands for reopening the strait.
The conditions were for the US to refrain from threatening or insulting the sacred beliefs of the Iranian nation, a permanent end of aggression on Iran and its regional allies, lifting the naval blockade and all sanctions on the country, returning its frozen assets, and paying compensation for damage resulting from the aggression.