Iran says shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will remain open

Iran will not close the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian ambassador to the UN said on March 12, hours after the new supreme leader purportedly said the waterway will remain closed as a “tool of pressure”.

“We are not going to close the Strait of Hormuz, but it is our inherent right to preserve the peace and security in this waterway,” Amir Saeid Iravani told reporters at the UN, CNN reports.

He insisted that Iran remains committed to freedom of navigation, and blamed the US for the current situation in the strait.

“The current situation in the region, including in the Strait of Hormuz, is not the result of Iran’s lawful exercise of its right of self-defense. Rather, it is the direct consequence of the destabilizing actions of the United States in launching aggression against Iran and undermining regional security,” he added.