Iran undecided on resuming talks with the US, as Hormuz shipping remains a key dispute
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the resumption of shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz depends on "the fulfilment of other conditions that the United States must adhere to”.
Iran remains undecided about whether to resume talks with the United States to end the ongoing war, citing disagreements over ceasefire violations and the Strait of Hormuz.
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“We have not yet made a decision to restart negotiations with the United States,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on Telegram on Saturday.
He added that mediators from both Qatar and Pakistan are exchanging messages, and maintain contact with Iran, “but this does not mean negotiations”.
Mr Araghchi blamed the US for the recent return to violence, after the two nations signed of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Pakistan in June.
He said a new path out of the conflict must be defined, and explained that Iran is separately working with Oman on a process to establish new routes for shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite this, he stressed that any transit of ships is contingent on a political solution being reached.
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“The routes that previously existed are no longer functional, and a new route must be defined. We are currently designing a temporary route that will become the final route in the next stages,” the minister said.
Mr Araghchi also noted that the resumption of shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz "depends on the fulfilment of other conditions that the United States must adhere to”.
The comments from Iran came on the same day that US President Trump said he would be "declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States" once America "defeats" Iran.
Responding to the comments, Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, wrote on X that the “Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian”.