Reuters: Iran prioritises control of Strait of Hormuz over nuclear programme

Iran now considers control of the Strait of Hormuz its most important strategic asset, placing greater emphasis on the vital shipping route than on its long-disputed nuclear programme, according to Reuters, citing two senior Iranian sources.

The report says Tehran believes its ability to control traffic through the world's most important oil transit chokepoint has become a "golden weapon" and is prepared to risk renewed tensions with the United States to defend that position.

So central is the issue to Iran's strategy that ships passing through the Strait without Tehran's approval were fired upon this week, triggering an exchange of fire with U.S. forces and threatening last month's interim peace agreement.

Iranian leaders, who for years treated closing the Strait as a measure of last resort because of the potential economic and diplomatic costs, now view it as their strongest source of leverage in dealings with Washington. According to the sources, there is little disagreement within Iran's leadership over this approach.

"Recognise the new Iranian order in the Strait of Hormuz: this is the only way forward," wrote Ebrahim Azizi, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, on social media, addressing the United States.

One senior Iranian source told Reuters there had been internal discussions over whether Tehran risked overplaying its hand, but the prevailing view was that no country would willingly surrender such an important strategic advantage.

"The issue of Hormuz, which is Iran's golden weapon, is something they now want to take away from Iran, and that will be absolutely impossible," the source said.

The disagreement stems in part from differing interpretations of last month's interim agreement that ended the conflict. Iran argues the deal implicitly recognises its authority to manage the Strait, while the United States and Gulf states maintain the agreement only obliges Tehran to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels without granting it control over the waterway.

According to Reuters, Iranian officials also believe Washington's actions in recent years — including withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, resuming military action this year and launching attacks during diplomatic contacts — have reinforced Tehran's distrust of the United States.

The sources said Iran now refuses to begin new nuclear negotiations until Washington accepts Tehran's full management of the Strait of Hormuz. While the nuclear programme had dominated U.S.-Iran disputes for nearly a quarter of a century, Reuters reports that Iranian leaders now regard the future of the strategic waterway as their overriding priority.