ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Saturday the strategic Strait of Hormuz will remain closed if the United States does not lift its blockade on Iranian ports, despite “progress” in ongoing talks.
There has been "progress" in talks with Washington "but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain,” Ghalibaf said in a televised address, adding that "If America does not lift the blockade, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be limited."
Iran initially closed the waterway on March 8, roughly a week after the outbreak of a nearly 40-day conflict with the US and Israel. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that the waterway - which typically carries around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas - is open in line with a halt to Israel’s attacks on Iran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, a key Iranian demand tied to broader ceasefire with Washington.
US President Donald Trump said Saturday that negotiations with Tehran were going “very good,” but said “they can’t blackmail us.