Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran
Tehran, Aug 10: The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen as long as the United States continues its naval blockade against Iran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday, according to local media.
Addressing a weekly press briefing in Tehran, Baqaei said the Strait of Hormuz was closed due to what he described as US and Israeli military aggression against Iran.
He said the reopening of the strategic waterway would depend on the conditions imposed on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz by the US and Israeli authorities, Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.
"As long as the US naval blockade continues, the necessary conditions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz do not exist," Baqaei said.
He added that the US would need to stop and change what he described as its "destructive actions" before the two sides could discuss the next steps.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is one of the world's most important energy corridors, carrying oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from major Gulf producers to international markets.
Baqaei also said talks between Iran and Oman over a shipping route were a bilateral matter involving the two countries.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi said there were currently no ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States.
Speaking to reporters at the Centre for Political and International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aragchi said intermediaries were continuing efforts to find ways to resume negotiations.
"We currently have no negotiations with the United States. Intermediaries are still making efforts to find ways to resume negotiations. From our perspective, there can be no resumption of talks until the United States ends its violations of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and makes amends for the breaches it has committed," he said, according to Tasnim News Agency.
Aragchi reiterated that negotiations could not resume until the US ended the alleged violations of the MoU or made amends for them.
He also said Iran and Oman were in the final stage of negotiations on determining a new sea route in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian foreign minister stressed that any agreement with Oman on a new maritime route would not mean that the Strait of Hormuz itself would be reopened.
"Of course, this does not mean the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. This agreement may be reached, but the opening of the Strait of Hormuz is subject to a series of conditions," he said.