New Delhi: As the Middle East conflict pushes the Strait of Hormuz into the centre of global attention, Iran has made clear that the vital shipping lane will resume operations only after Washington lifts its naval blockade and eases pressure on Tehran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking in an exclusive interview with India Today on the sidelines of the BRICS summit here, said Tehran is prepared to back an “internationally recognised maritime framework” for the strait, provided the United States ends its blockade and other hostile activities against Iran.
‘We Will Respond While We Are Alive’
Defending Iran’s decision to shut the waterway following US–Israeli strikes, Pezeshkian insisted Tehran was acting in self-defence. “You see, neither Hezbollah, nor us, I don’t think initiated that. All of these groups are defending themselves,” he said, arguing that Iran had been compelled to react to external attacks.
He challenged Washington’s military posture in the Gulf, asking: “On what basis are the Americans attacking our region, and blocking our routes, and we should do nothing?”
“If we are alive, we have to respond. We will not respond when we are dead. So we are alive, and we will respond,” Pezeshkian said.
Condition: End US blockade, Sanctions
Pezeshkian tied the reopening of Hormuz directly to an end to American sanctions and the naval blockade, which he said have devastated ordinary Iranians. “If Americans stop this blockade and sanctions, you know, sanctions mean killing the patients, it means making people unemployed, it means poverty, discontent, and thousands of problems,” he said.
He accused Washington of shifting to economic coercion after failing to secure its objectives through war. “And now that they have not been able to reach their objectives through war, they are doing it through economic activities. They will fail,” the Iranian president added.
Oman, Arab FM Talks Pave Hormuz Pact
At the heart of the diplomatic effort is a proposed maritime arrangement being negotiated with Oman, which controls the opposite bank of the strait. “In this regard, we are dealing and having negotiations with Oman regarding a specific maritime framework,” Pezeshkian said.
He said Arab foreign ministers would meet in Oman on Monday to finalise an understanding on the Hormuz route, with the International Maritime Organization to be informed of the arrangement’s status.
“On Monday, the foreign ministers of the Arab countries — who wanted us to quarrel with each other — will have a meeting with Oman in order to have a kind of agreement about the Hormuz Strait, and the IMO will announce this status,” he said.
Under the plan, the waterway could be reopened under internationally accepted principles, but only if Washington halts its blockade. “So, within the internationally established principles, the waterway would be opened up on the condition that the US will terminate its blockade and its coward activities,” Pezeshkian said.
‘We Will Not Surrender’
Even with shipping routes disrupted, Tehran refuses to yield to US pressure, the president stressed. “Of course, the maritime routes are easier, but it is not the main route. If they block them, we will not surrender,” he said.
Reiterating that sanctions would not force Iran to capitulate, he added: “It has been a long time that they have been thinking, in their mind, that if they put sanctions on us, if they block it, they can make us surrender. They will fail.”
Pezeshkian, in New Delhi for the BRICS summit, also held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, focusing on expanded economic cooperation and Indian investment in Chabahar port.
