Iran’s chief negotiator and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Tuesday said the Strait of Hormuz would remain under Tehran’s administration and would not return to its pre-war status.Ghalibaf stated that “the Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-war conditions and will be administered by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” AFP reported.The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, is a key chokepoint for global oil and gas shipments, making stability in the region a matter of international concern.Frozen Iranian assets deal finalisedThe Iranian negotiator earlier said that discussions held during the Switzerland talks resulted in the finalisation of an agreement for the release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets.Speaking to Reuters after returning from talks with US officials in Switzerland, Ghalibaf also revealed that Iran had agreed to establish a communication channel regarding ship movements through the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to prevent misunderstandings, conflicts and security incidents in one of the world’s most critical energy transit routes.‘We don’t trust US‘He also alleged that during the negotiations, Iran was able to compel the United States to revise a social media post within an hour where US President Donald Trump threatened Iran against supporting its ‘proxy groups’ in the region, particularly in Lebanon, in a veiled reference to Hezbollah, describing it as evidence of Iran’s diplomatic impact.“We have never trusted the Americans; we don’t trust them now, and it is only reasonable to remain distrustful in the future,” he said.An interim agreement was signed last week, more than three months after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran and Tehran retaliated with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.
