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Senior military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Mohsen Rezaee, on Monday (local time) rejected US President Donald Trump's remarks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and warned that Iran would not permit any shipping route through the strategic waterway other than the one designated by Tehran.
Rezaee was responding to US President Donald Trump's remarks that discussions were underway to "completely" reopen the Strait of Hormuz and that denuclearisation of Iran would form the second phase of negotiations. "The US had accepted Iran's arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz under the (Islamabad) MoU, but later violated the agreement. The US not only breached the MoU but also launched attacks without first referring the dispute to the designated dispute resolution panel," he said, according to Press TV. He further claimed that Iran had responded forcefully after the alleged breach. "In the 17 days of fighting after the MoU was breached, we dealt severe blows to the US. We made it clear to the US that we have both missiles and the capability to defend ourselves. Even if the US sends warships through an unauthorised route into the Strait of Hormuz, we will target them. We will not allow any route other than Iran's designated route to be established in the Strait of Hormuz," Rezaee was quoted as saying by Press TV. Rezaee's remarks came after Trump said discussions were underway to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with Iran, saying that while the first phase of the new set of talks will focus on opening the key shipping route. Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office after signing an Executive Order, Trump said progress on the strategically important waterway could come as early as Tuesday (local time). "Well, we'll find out today or tomorrow. I mean, they're going to go quickly one way or the other. It's not very complex. We're talking about the Strait, the opening of the Strait, having it open, literally by tomorrow. Completely open. And that's Phase 1," Trump said. He added that the second phase of discussions would centre on dismantling Iran's nuclear capabilities. "Phase 2 is we then will talk about the nuclear capacity... I think most accurately, the denuclearisation of Iran has to happen. Has to happen. That'll be the second phase. But the first phase is the opening of the Strait, the second phase will be the denuclearisation... They cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and I have never changed that position," Trump said. Earlier, Trump described the current diplomatic engagement as Iran's "last chance" to reach an agreement, claiming that Washington had paused a planned military strike after requests from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Iran to pursue diplomacy. The US President also alleged that Iran had sought negotiations while publicly denying talks were taking place. However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei earlier rejected reports of direct or indirect negotiations with Washington, maintaining that Tehran was not engaged in bilateral talks with the United States. (ANI)
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