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Implementation of Iran-Oman deal on Hormuz hinges on US fulfilling commitments: Deputy FM
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that implementation of an agreement reached Between Tehran and Muscat on the Strait of Hormuz hinges on the United States’ fulfillment of its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
“The Islamic Republic has reached an understanding with Oman concerning arrangements for transit through the Strait of Hormuz. However, this understanding will not automatically enter the implementation phase, as its implementation is conditional upon the fulfillment of commitments by the United States,” Gharibabadi told reporters on Saturday, according to IRNA.
“We have explicitly stated that whenever the conditions are met and the obligations incumbent upon the United States are met, the Islamic Republic is likewise prepared to take its own measures regarding the Strait of Hormuz,” Gharibabadi added.
He rejected the idea that Iran should initiate the process of honoring commitments linked to reopening the waterway.
“It is not for us to take the first step in fulfilling the commitments related to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Rather, it was the United States that suspended its obligations. Washington must return to fulfilling those commitments, and we have made entirely clear the steps that must be taken by the United States,” he stated.
Iran closed the chokepoint following the launch of the latest bout of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against the country on February 28.
The Islamic Republic and the United States agreed on a 60-day reopening period as part of a Pakistan-mediated MoU in June, but American violations forced Tehran to re-establish the closure.
Tehran has conditioned reopening of the waterway on the implementation of the Islamabad agreement.
Since the closure of the conduit, Iran and Oman, which sit on either side of the strait, have held several rounds of negotiations to regulate sailing through it. They have now reached an agreement on arrangements for transit through the strait from which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is exported. Gharibabadi reminded that it was the United States, and not Iran that violated the Islamabad memorandum, adding that the Islamic Republic should not be expected to bear the consequences of the US’s misconduct.
“The responsibility and obligation now lie with the other party to meet the necessary requirements, so that Iran can take reciprocal action.”
The official underlined that Iran was not under pressure to reopen the strait if the US did not take the required action.