Reports indicate that an oil industry port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a residential building in Oman were targeted in attacks on May 4. Neither Iran or the US has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
On Monday, May 4, Iran warned that it will target any force which tries to enter the Strait of Hormuz without its permission.
The warning was issued after US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that US armed forces will start escorting ships through the strait on Monday. Trump claimed several countries have approached him for help, but did not name any particular country.
The US president described escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz as a “humanitarian gesture”, saying it will formally be known as “Project Freedom”, which will help Iran, West Asia, as well as the US.
Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued a statement reiterating that the security of the Strait of Hormuz is solely under the authority of the armed forces of Iran and all safe passage through it must be coordinated with the Iranian forces.
He warned all commercial ships in the region to not fall for Trump’s rhetoric and try to transit through the hormuz without prior coordination with the Iranian forces as that would endanger their safety, Press TV reported.
On Monday, Iran claimed its navy fired on US navy vessels when they tried to approach the Strait of Hormuz, forcing the US ships to turn back.
A violation of the ceasefire
Esmail Baghaei, official spokesperson of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the press on Monday that the world knows the reality of Trump’s humanitarian claims behind the so-called “Project Freedom.”
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s foreign policy and national security commission warned that Iran would consider such a move a violation of the ceasefire and deal with it accordingly.
Baghaei insisted that the US cannot escape the consequences of the “quagmire” Trump has created in West Asia and warned against using threatening language against his country.
Meanwhile, on Monday the US handed over 22 crew members of the Iranian ship “Touska” seized by it in April, to Pakistan. The crew will be repatriated to Iran.
Six of the crew members have already been handed over to other countries for repatriation, Tasnim News Agency reported.
US Central Command also claimed that it is pursuing the process of handing over the ship to its original owner [Iran].
Iran’s 14-point plan for peace
Blaming the US for rendering the international waters unsafe through its piracy, Baghaei asked other countries to pressure the US to not escalate the situation in the region further. He also claimed that Iranian measures in the Strait of Hormuz are aligned with international law and to safeguard Iranian interests against any possible aggression.
On Sunday, Baghaei also informed that Iran has received responses from the US to its 14-point peace plan submitted earlier through Pakistan and was currently reviewing the US responses.
Baghaei claimed that the Iranian plan was centered on ending the war and there were “absolutely no mentions regarding the country’s nuclear issues in the proposal,” Baghaei said.
He refuted reports in the media, including one published by Al Jazeera, which claimed that the 14-point Iranian proposal includes a 15-year suspension of Iran’s nuclear activities and talks about joint efforts to remove the mines from the Strait of Hormuz.
Baghaei dismissed the claims, saying there were no proposals of cooperation between the US and Iran to sweep mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
He emphasized that Iran is negotiating with a party which often changes its stances and makes diplomacy difficult to pursue. Therefore, it has decided to postpone discussing certain matters such as the fate of the country’s nuclear program for a later date.
He also emphasized that Iran’s objective behind the proposal was to end the war in the region, including that in Lebanon.
On Monday, Baghaei reiterated that the end of the war for Iran would mean the end of all wars in the region and the US must rein in its proxy Israel.
Despite a ceasefire achieved through US intervention last month, Israel has continued to bomb and attack Lebanon, killing hundreds of people there.
As per reports in the Iranian media, the 14-point proposal also includes the withdrawal of all US forces from the region, the end of its naval blockade on Iran imposed since April 13, releasing all of Iran’s frozen assets, paying compensation for the damages during the war, and ending the war, including in Lebanon.
The post Iran warns of retaliation if US tries to violate the blockade of Strait of Hormuz appeared first on Peoples Dispatch.
From Peoples Dispatch via This RSS Feed.