Iran warned on Tuesday that the United States’ announcement of the resumption of the naval blockade on its ports has undermined the memorandum of understanding with Washington aimed at ending the war in preparation for peace talks.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to reimpose the blockade “has, in one way or another, undermined the memorandum of understanding” that was concluded through Pakistani mediation.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would impose a full blockade, but only on ships traveling to and from Iranian ports or carrying any Iranian cargo.
He said that, based on what he described as highly productive discussions with Middle Eastern leaders, he had decided to replace the proposed 20% U.S. recovery fee with trade and investment agreements to be concluded between the United States and various Gulf countries.
He added that these investments would be substantial while also being highly beneficial to those countries and their future, noting that the United States already has the largest dollar-denominated investment base of any country in history. He said the new investments would significantly increase that figure and lead to an unprecedented influx of factories, facilities, and equipment into the United States, creating millions of high-paying American jobs.
Iran had effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which one-fifth of global crude oil production had passed, after the United States and Israel launched attacks against it on February 28.
The closure began to be gradually lifted after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17, which included several key provisions, most notably ending the war on all fronts, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and holding negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement within a 60-day period that could be extended.
Last Tuesday, clashes resumed following attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz that were attributed to the Islamic Republic.
The confrontations resumed at an unprecedented pace after weeks of relative calm, prompting Trump to repeatedly state that the ceasefire had “ended,” resulting in the collapse of the memorandum of understanding.
AFP
