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Iran said that it will no longer allow "enemy" military equipment to transit through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Aref said, "We had given up our right of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and we previously allowed the passage of military equipment that was intended to be used against us through the Strait of Hormuz. We will not permit that again." Earlier on Saturday, Head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee Ebrahim Azizi said that Iran has prepared a "professional mechanism" to regulate maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz through a designated route, which will be unveiled soon. In a post on X, Azizi said the proposed mechanism has been developed within the framework of Iran's national sovereignty and with the aim of ensuring the security of international trade. He further stated that only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran would be permitted to benefit from the mechanism. Azizi also said that the proposed route would remain closed to operators associated with the so-called "freedom project" (United States). "Iran, within the framework of its national sovereignty and the guarantee of international trade security, has prepared a professional mechanism to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz along a designated route, which will be unveiled soon. In this process, only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran will benefit from it. The necessary fees will be collected for the specialized services provided under this mechanism. This route will remain closed to the operators of the so-called 'freedom project'," said the 'X' post from Azizi. This development came amidst the ongoing tensions within Middle East region due to US-Iran conflict. Meanwhile, on Friday (local time), the United States and China agreed that "Iran can't have nuclear weapons," and that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened, according to US President Donald Trump. President Trump met with his Chinese conterpart XI Jinping during his three-day state visit to China, where he discussed the ongoing West Asia conflict and other regional issues. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One following his departure from China, President Trump asserted that the US controls the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasising Iran has been hit with 500 million dollars of loss per day in the past two and a half weeks due to US's naval blockade in the region. "I have a lot of respect for him. On Iran, he feels strongly that they can't have a nuclear weapon--said that very strongly, they can't have a nuclear weapon--and he wants them to open up the strait. But as he said, they close it and you close them. And it's true, we (US) control the strait, and they (Iran) have done no business in the last two and a half weeks, which is approximately 500 million dollars a day," said President Trump. The ceasefire between Washington and Tehran was announced on April 7 after a month-long period of hostility in the region following US-Israeli joint strikes on Iran on February 28. (ANI)
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