The China Mail - Iran says Hormuz strait still closed despite transit corridor talks

Washington has announced fresh sanctions aimed at pressuring Iran into submission, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatening the Islamic republic with "economic asphyxiation".

During talks in Tehran, foreign ministers from Iran and Oman discussed a "phased framework" that included setting up a "joint temporary navigational corridor through the Strait of Hormuz and an agreement to implement a joint project to clear the Strait of mines," according to a statement.

The two countries, both coastal states bordering the strait, have sought to hammer out a plan to regulate transit through it, as laid out in a June US-Iran memorandum of understanding.

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that the proposed framework is "case in point" showing how his country's "commitment to peace and stability is matched by steadfast diplomacy with our neighbours".

Nearly six months after the United States and Israel went to war against Iran, traffic through the Hormuz strait remains largely paralysed, disrupting global oil markets.

Tehran has blockaded the crucial waterway -- which normally carries around one fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports -- while Washington imposed a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned on Wednesday that no military vessel will be allowed to pass through the Hormuz Strait.

"We closed the Strait of Hormuz before the United States imposed an economic blockade because the United States failed to fulfil its commitments under the memorandum of understanding," Gharibabadi said, according to state news agency IRNA.

Gharibabadi said no military vessels from any country would be allowed through the strait, while Iranian authorities would monitor commercial vessels seeking to cross it.

"Before any action is taken to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the United States must fully implement all of the commitments it has violated," he said, calling on the United States to end the war, lift its blockade and resolve the situation in Yemen.

Yemen, embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, in July became the latest country to be dragged into the Middle East war as the Iran-backed Houthis upended a 2022 truce with the country's Saudi-backed government.

- Mine-clearing project -

US President Donald Trump previously said on Truth Social that "all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz", citing the US Navy.

But Gharibabadi said on Wednesday such claims were "propaganda deception", adding that Iran would target US minesweepers that entered the area.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on Tuesday that he hoped Iran and Oman would "soon announce" the temporary corridor in the strait.

"Future management of the strait and a permanent solution will follow in due course," he wrote on X following talks in Tehran.

Technical negotiations will continue to determine a "permanent navigational corridor and future administration of the Strait, as well as a mechanism for information-sharing, traffic management, and the provision of relevant navigational and security services", a joint statement read.

In the Iranian capital, long queues formed at petrol stations after authorities said fuel quotas would be reviewed.

Iran had already been grappling with sky-high inflation before the war, which fuelled an anti-government protest movement that peaked in January.

Announcing the new sanctions, Bessent said countries that did not support the US economic campaign would "share in the isolation" of Iran.

Gharibabadi said that Iran's response to US sanctions would be to "target their economic interests".

The Treasury Department said expanded secondary sanctions would target Iran's digital assets and its technology, gold, aviation and shipping sectors.

The measures hit entities around the world, including in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Europe.

Oil prices continued to decline on Wednesday as concerns over another military flare-up in the Middle East receded.

K.Leung--ThChM