IRAN’s Army spokesman has warned the United States that no measure of American aggression will force the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, following Tehran’s decision to close the strategic waterway over US violations.
‘The aggressive and corrupt president of the United States must learn to respect international law, the rights of nations, and the dignity of peoples.
‘As we have previously stated, the Strait of Hormuz will never be reopened through war, hostility, or acts of aggression by the United States,’ Brigadier General Mohammad Akrami-Nia said on Monday.
The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding last month to end the cycle of hostilities arising from the latest bout of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic, which began on February 28.
Under the interim deal, Iran agreed to allow toll-free maritime transit through the Strait for a period of 60 days.
In compliance with the MoU, the Islamic Republic devised a special maritime route for vessels to cross the chokepoint, warning them against using illegal routes.
The US has, however, been trying to escort transit through the Strait along an illegal passageway, prompting the Islamic Republic to shut the corridor until Washington ends its interference in regional maritime movement.
Akrami-Nia also noted that, although the Americans had accepted Iran’s arrangements concerning the Strait of Hormuz as part of the memorandum, they later sought to establish a new route ‘through deception’.
However, he went on: ‘Iran’s armed forces stood firmly against the Americans’ breach of their commitments and declared that any action in the Strait of Hormuz, outside the arrangements stipulated in the memorandum of understanding, would be met with a decisive response from the Islamic Republic.
‘The only way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is for the United States to respect the rights of the Iranian nation and comply with the provisions of the war-ending memorandum of understanding,’ he reiterated.
‘The Iranian people should also rest assured that the armed forces, especially the Army, will stand firm to their last breath and will not yield one iota of the Iranian nation’s rights in the Strait of Hormuz.’
