Hormuz Strait to remain closed until US fulfills its commitments: IRGC

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday that the Hormuz Strait would not be reopened until the US accepts Tehran’s conditions and returns to the memorandum of understanding reached earlier between the two countries.

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohibi made the remarks at a press briefing in the central province of Isfahan.

“If the US stops its obstruction and returns to the memorandum, we can reopen the Strait of Hormuz within the framework of the understanding reached,” Mohibi said.

“If the US does not accept our conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will under no circumstances be reopened,” he added.

According to the IRGC spokesman, the strait remains under Iranian control and no “enemy military vessels” are currently present in its waters.

He also stated that all hostile vessels were now at least 400 kilometers (248 miles) away from the strait, stressing that no vessel can pass through the waterway without Tehran’s express permission.

Mohibi said that Iran had entered talks with Oman one month ago and that the two sides had reached understandings acceptable to both sides.

The talks, he added, had achieved understandings regarding each country’s share of the strait’s waters and transit revenues associated with the waterway.

Mohibi also accused Washington of obstructing the process, saying this had delayed progress towards reaching an agreement.

On Tuesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran and Oman had agreed on a temporary seven-mile-wide transit route through the Hormuz Strait, while stressing that the arrangement did not amount to a reopening of the waterway.

He added that further talks would be held to determine a permanent route, noting that any reopening of the strait remained conditional on Washington fulfilling its commitments under the Islamabad memorandum.

In mid-June, Iran and the US -- with Pakistani and Qatari mediation -- signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding in Islamabad.

The memorandum included provisions for ending hostilities, reopening the strait, lifting a US naval blockade and beginning a 60-day negotiation process.

Tehran has accused the US of failing to implement key provisions of the memorandum, insisting that the strait will not fully reopen until Washington fulfills its commitments.