Iran has agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz, but the United States of America must lift the naval blockade ofIranian ports, return the funds, amounting to $15 billion, frozen by the West and also, lift the sanctions, in place for years, Kazem Gharibabadi, the deputy minister of foreign affairs of Iran said today. "Iran is ready to open the Strait of Hormuz," the minister said, but after a 40-day war, which has left 4,000 Iranians dead, including many civilians, "we can't be good guys, we can't allow the Strait of Hormuz to be opened and ships to sail smoothly...Hormuz can't be opened for the whole world except Iran," he said.
Iran, the minister said, is not part of UNCLOS, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and is not keen to charge "transit fees," but it is only fair, he suggested, that there be a kind of a service charge as payment for the services provided by the governments of Iran and Oman. Exactly how much it will be will be decided upon by an expert group, but the process, the minister added, would be "transparent" and "nondiscriminatory" and would help to make movement through the narrow Strait safe and secure. This won't apply, though, to aggressor countries-- those who either directly attacked Iran, or helped them.
Speaking on nuclear issues, Gharibabadi said there are three points to be discussed: the development of nuclear weapons, enrichment of the uranium and the stockpile of roughly 460 kgs. He asked why the uranium should be handed over to the USA, a country which attacked Iran. Enrichment, he added, was the right of every country that has signed the NPT or the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and in any case, the material was under a lot of rubble. So, further enrichment wasn't even feasible right now. But a "transfer to the USA" wasn't acceptable. Asked why Iran chose to enrich the uranium to 60 percent, the minister said that for peaceful uses, uranium enriched upto 20 percent was necessary, but going to 60 percent was a reaction to the attempts to sabotage the Iranian nuclear programme.
Asked if Iran was happy with Pakistan's role as a mediator, he said any diplomatic initiative was welcome, and added that he would be happy if India had come up with an initiative. For, India had always supported the idea of peace in the region. The minister added he was willing to cooperate with India on Chabahar port in Iran, which New Delhi has helped to build and provides a link for India to central Asia.
Asked about the presence of Iranian planes in Pakistani airfields, he said he had no information about it. He regretted that a country that was a neighbour of Iran and a member of BRICS (the UAE) had wanted references negative to Tehren's interests in the BRICS statement. Asked about the visit to Beijing by US President Donald Trump and his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping tomorrow, he felt that the Chinese could put pressure on the Americans. For, the Chinese depended on proper traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The ceasefire between the USA and Iran, which he called "shaky,"remains, but he preferred a "permanent peace," and if there is war once again, there will be "huge damage," he added, and the consequences, the global consequences, will be "huge."
The writer is national affairs editor, Times Now
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
