Iran’s lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran will take charge of administering the Strait of Hormuz, according to state media, after talks aimed at ending the US-Israeli war on the Islamic republic.
Mediators said Iran and the US agreed yesterday to establish direct communication lines designed to keep the crucial shipping corridor open and to halt fighting in Lebanon, following their first round of Switzerland talks intended to bring the wider conflict in the Middle East to an end.
“The Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-war conditions and will be administered by the Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with international law,” Mr Ghalibaf said after returning from the negotiations, IRNA reported.
In a video posted on Mr Ghalibaf’s Telegram account, he described the discussions at the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock as yielding “good achievements”.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the Switzerland talks ‘had good achievements’
“In my view, this trip had good achievements, especially regarding the discussion of the Strait, the Lebanon discussions, the question of oil waiver, and the matter of releasing the frozen funds,” he said.
Following the talks, the United States temporarily suspended sanctions on Iranian oil after Vice President JD Vance said Tehran would permit UN nuclear inspectors to return to the country.
Under the arrangement, Tehran is also expected to receive some form of sanctions relief from Washington, along with the unfreezing of assets.
“Of course, we believe we are still at the beginning of this work and must continue our efforts,” Mr Ghalibaf said in the video.
Iranian state media also reported that Mr Ghalibaf made a stop in Oman, the Gulf nation that shares the Strait of Hormuz.
US Vice President JD Vance said Iran would allow UN nuclear inspectors to return to the country
The waterway — one of the world’s most strategically important maritime chokepoints — was shut by Iran at the outset of the war and then reopened last week after Washington and Tehran reached an agreement.
However, Tehran said on Saturday it had closed the strait again in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Since then, Qatari and Pakistani mediators said Iran and the US have agreed to set up a communication channel “to avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels” through the waterway.
Despite the renewed tensions, maritime traffic through the strait continued yesterday, moving at a faster pace than before the US-Iranian agreement on talks to end the war, according to tracking firms.
