Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz can “never return to what it was before the war,” adding that it will be “managed under Iranian arrangements.”
“I was among the first to say clearly at the start of the war, everyone should know that management of the Strait of Hormuz will never return to the way it was before the war,” he said, adding that “Iran has never trusted the Americans and never will.”
Ghalibaf, speaking to Iranian media on the flight back from negotiations in Switzerland, also said that Iran has agreed to set up a “telephone hotline” for the strategic waterway to “prevent and resolve any misunderstandings” with the US and other countries as ships pass through it.
He added that the US and Iran have “reached an agreement to establish coordination mechanisms — a telephone hotline and a center so that if any ambiguity or issue arises, ships can contact that center,” CNN reported.
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He said the hotline would help ensure “the highest level of safety and traffic flow,” adding that Iran “will implement international laws precisely” and act quickly to resolve problems or misunderstandings.
“Naturally, just as problems may arise in Lebanon or elsewhere, problems can also arise in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. “As you’ve seen, on some nights there have even been clashes,” he said, according to CNN.
When asked about the hotline’s purpose, Ghalibaf said it is meant to resolve issues if the United States has any objections or if any vessel needs clarification.
“If Americans have any objection to anything, or if any vessels or ships need clarity on any route or anything, they can call.”
‘Very good day of negotiations’, says Vance
The negotiations between the two countries in Switzerland concluded on Monday. The US vice president described Sunday, the day the talks took place, as a “very, very good day” of negotiations. He added that the recent peace talks laid a “good foundation for a successful final deal” to end the war that began in late February.
The Strait of Hormuz, which was closed by Iran at the beginning of the war, was finally opened after US President Donald Trump and the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the peace agreement, lowering oil prices across the world.
According to data from MarineTraffic, at least two dozen ships have passed through the crucial waterway in the past 24 hours, as negotiations between Iran and the US continue.
The ships included eight tankers and two cargo ships exiting the Persian Gulf and eight tankers and six cargo ships entering it, according to CNN.
‘Doing very well with Hormuz’, says Trump
Trump, while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday said the US is doing very well with the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have total control of the strait. We have a navy, there was a blockade, which was more effective than dropping bombs. We’re doing very well with respect to the Hormuz Strait. We took in more oil yesterday than has ever gone through the strait… We have an open strait and we have a country that will never have a nuclear weapon.”
