Tehran ties Hormuz reopening to US pledges

Trump says Washington could stay in Iran and keep oil

TEHRAN/ LONDON:

 

President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that the United States could stay in Iran and "keep the oil", after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was conditional on Washington returning to its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Iran's Press TV reported on Sunday that Araghchi, speaking to The New Arab ahead of the country's crucial talks with neighbouring Gulf states, said the meeting in Oman on Monday (today) would focus on establishing a new maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz.

"We will provide participating countries with details of the agreement with Oman and maps related to the new route," Araghchi said, according to a Press TV post on X. He stressed that the agreement with Oman "does not in any way mean" that the Strait of Hormuz is being reopened.

"Iran's condition for reopening the Strait of Hormuz is for the US to return to its commitments under the Islamabad MoU," he said. Iran believes that "ensuring the security and stability of the region is solely the responsibility of regional countries", Araghchi said.

Meanwhile, in an interview with India Today on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran had no issue with Gulf countries, but objected to US military bases in the region, which were "being used to launch attacks" against Iran.

"We have no problem with the UAE. We have no problem with any of the countries in the region," Pezeshkian said. "Our problem is with the US bases in regional countries, which are being used to launch aggression against our country," he added.

"Iran has never started a war and has only defended itself against US and Israeli aggression. Iran does not seek war, but it will not surrender in the face of sanctions, restrictions on the delivery of medicine and food, and pressure on its people. The only way forward is to end US aggression and unilateralism," he said.

However, Trump said he did not "care" about a proposed meeting between Iran and Gulf states to discuss the future of the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported. "I don't care. That's up to them. If they are happy, that's fine," Trump told reporters during a visit to Ireland.

"We'll ultimately get out [of Iran], unless we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela," Trump said, drawing a parallel with a US push to take control of a fifth of Venezuela's vast oil reserves. He added that US revenue from Venezuela had "paid for the war many times".

Trump also claimed that Tehran "wants to make a deal" to end the war, saying Iranian officials were "calling constantly" to secure an agreement, though he cautioned that his administration would only accept a favourable settlement. "I'm not going to make a deal that's no good."

Speaking about rising fuel prices in the US, Trump predicted a sharp decline after the end of the war. "Look, it [war] could end before the midterms, but it'll end after the midterms," Trump said, adding that gasoline prices were "going to drop like a rock" following the conclusion of hostilities.