IRGC says US naval blockade of Iranian ports continues
Senior Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohsen Rezaei accused U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday of “betraying diplomacy for the third time” by maintaining the naval blockade on Iranian ports and “being greedy in negotiations.”
A day earlier, Trump laid out a set of conditions Iran must agree to in order to advance toward a peace agreement, including never having a nuclear weapon, fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz and removing all mines, and destroying all of its enriched uranium, while announcing that the naval blockade on Iranian ports “will now be lifted,” News.Az reports, citing The New Region.
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The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency on Saturday reported that the naval blockade was still in place, citing Iranian sailors.
“As predicted, the US president is betraying diplomacy for the third time. By continuing the naval blockade and being greedy in negotiations, he has proven more than ever that he is not interested in negotiation and is pursuing other goals,” Rezaei said, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
In response to the renewed US-Israeli strikes in late February, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway responsible for the transport of roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil, sharply driving up global oil prices.
In return, the US has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, which Trump says costs Iran $500 million daily.
In recent months, Pakistan has acted as the official mediator between the warring sides, with the first round of talks being held in Islamabad in April, shortly after the initial ceasefire was announced. The talks resulted in no deal.
Since then, the two sides have sent proposals to continue peace talks back and forth, with Tehran calling Washington’s demands excessive and Washington dubbing Tehran’s unacceptable.
Although the ceasefire largely stopped hostilities between the warring sides, flare-ups in the Strait of Hormuz have led to minor clashes.
By Ulviyya Salmanli
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