A vessel is seen off the coast of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
AFP/Getty Images
US President Donald Trump has raised hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened “soon” amid talks between Iran and Oman about safe passage. But Iranian state media has cast doubt on that assessment.
State broadcaster IRIB reported Wednesday that any future agreement between Iran and Oman – which both border the strait – has “no connection to the immediate reopening of the strait,” citing an unnamed source.
“If the United States continues its violations, the Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened even if Iran and Oman reach an agreement,” IRIB reported.
In an interview with Fox News earlier, Trump said the strait was going to be reopened “very soon or they (Iran) are going to get hit very hard.”
Meanwhile, Hassan Ghashghavi, a spokesperson for Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told Iranian state-affiliated media that the critical waterway, through which one-fifth of global crude oil typically flows, would not return to its pre-war status under any circumstances.
“We will not accept the southern corridor that the United States sought to impose through pressure and threats,” state-affiliated Mizan News Agency cited Ghashghavi as saying on Wednesday. Current talks between Tehran and Muscat regarding passage through the channel are bilateral and have “no connection” with the United States, Ghashghavi said.
