Reports: Iran could reopen Strait of Hormuz within a week if U.S. lifts blockade
by Mike Glenn · The Washington TimesIran said it was prepared to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ship traffic within a week if the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian ports and eases military pressure on the regime, according to media reports.
The offer, made ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, is part of Tehran’s efforts to revive negotiations with Washington and reach a permanent end to hostilities with the U.S., Japan’s Kyodo News Agency and Reuters reported Tuesday, citing unidentified Iranian officials.
Iranian officials met for three hours in New York on Tuesday with the Trump administration’s negotiating team, but Tehran ruled out a face-to-face between President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Iranian president said his country’s U.N. delegation would be talking with politicians, cultural institutions, and the media from several countries.
“Attending the U.N. General Assembly is an opportunity for us to convey our positions, the injustices we have endured, and our strength to the world,” Mr. Pezeshkian said.
The spokesman for Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said diplomacy at the highest levels is another battlefield in Iran’s goal to emerge victorious in its conflict with the U.S.
“Negotiations do not mean compromise; negotiation is another scene of war,” Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbisaid said Tuesday in an interview with IRNA. “We should have 100% readiness for war, and we have this capability and readiness. [Iran’s] armed forces are now 100% ready to fight, and the IRGC has prepared itself for a long war. But this does not mean rejecting negotiations.”
Mr. Trump told the U.N. delegates that the U.S. Navy has escorted more than 1 billion barrels of oil past the Strait of Hormuz despite Iran’s blockade of maritime traffic through the strategic chokepoint.
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“More oil is flowing than at any point since the start of the war. We’re taking 22, 25, 30, 32, and 37 ships out, respectively, every single day and every single night,” he said.
Still, Mr. Trump said a failure by Iran to come to an accord over its nuclear ambitions and support for terrorism could prove ruinous. He said all options were on the table, including Iran’s complete destruction.
An Iranian official told the Kyodo News Agency that progress toward a lasting agreement between Washington and Tehran remains possible. However, the Trump administration must demonstrate seriousness and commitment if diplomacy is to succeed.
Despite the diplomatic gestures in New York, Iranian army commander Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami on Tuesday vowed that any future aggression against Tehran’s security and territorial integrity would face a “decisive and regret-inducing response.”
“A reliance on faith and national will, the unity and insight of the people, and the capability of the armed forces are a solid support for the country’s security and authority,” Gen. Hatami said during Sacred Defense Week, an annual commemoration of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War.
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The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, was expected to urge Mr. Trump to avoid escalating hostilities with Iran during their meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Gulf states such as Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait are particularly concerned about the Strait of Hormuz given their complete dependence on the waterway for exports and imports. They will likely focus on building strong domestic defense capabilities, strengthening regional security cooperation, and seeking additional security and economic partners beyond Washington, analysts said.
But ultimately, the Arab Gulf states will need to find a way to “manage Iran” despite the shattered trust and recent history.
“For Qatar and others in the Gulf, forging ties of economic interdependence between Iran and the Gulf is likely the best form of deterrence,” wrote Monica Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Will Todman, a senior fellow at the think tank, in a recent essay. “Integrating Iran into an economic model that depends on regional stability may be the best hope for deterring its disruptive behavior going forward.”
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