The Iranian authorities have indicated this Monday that contacts with the United States remain open while Tehran analyzes in detail Washington's response to its seven-point proposal aimed at unblocking the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baqaei, has explained that the "exchange of messages between both parties through mediators" is still ongoing. At the same time, he emphasized that the initiative presented by Iran "contemplates the legitimate demands of the country, such as the lifting of the naval blockade and the end of the war on all fronts."
Baqaei has reminded that "these issues were included in a memorandum of understanding previously agreed upon" and has specified that Tehran will convey its final position to the mediators once the analysis of the U.S. response is concluded. In this regard, he reiterated that "the new sanctions from the United States must also be lifted; they must put an end to all their interventionist and aggressive actions," according to statements collected by the IRNA agency.
The spokesperson has also emphasized that Pakistan and Qatar continue to act as the main channels of mediation between Iran and the United States, while highlighting the importance of the efforts made by "friendly countries."
In his appearance, Baqaei warned that "if the United States insists on continuing to turn this area into an unsafe place through blockade and economic war, security will take time to return to the Strait of Hormuz."
On the other hand, the head of Iran's Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, has blamed the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for "leading a network of oil trafficking" in the Hormuz area. He indicated that "over the last two or three months we have attacked about five of these ships used for smuggling every night."
Rezaei added that "these operations have been supervised by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM)" and assured that "UAE personnel have been used and deployed to support these operations," according to information disseminated by the Press TV channel.