Tehran
The speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohamad Baqer Qalibafdefended Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuzwhich he described as the country’s greatest instrument of power, and assured that Tehran has resumed its crude oil exports after the uprising of the American naval blockade.
“Iran will not under any circumstances renounce its rights to the Strait of Hormuz. “These are our territorial waters,” Qalibaf said in an interview with state television on Tuesday night.
The leader, who acts as chief negotiator in the peace talks with USAmaintained that “the Strait of Hormuz It is our greatest instrument of power and we must adequately preserve this divine gift,” in reference to Iran’s intention to charge for the security and navigation services provided in that strategic sea route.
In that sense, he explained that, according to the memorandum of understanding reached with USAthe transit of commercial ships through the strait will be exempt from paying fees only for a period of 60 days, while the parties negotiate a definitive agreement. In return, he said Washington lifted the naval blockade imposed on Iran, allowing the country to resume oil exports.
“Since we lifted the blockade until today we have exported more than 40 million barrels of oil. This happened in less than 10 or 12 days. However, for more than fifty days we were practically unable to export a single barrel,” he said.
Regarding the relief of sanctions on Iranian oil and its derivatives, Qalibaf stated that the iranian crude oil It is already sold at the international price of Brent, after almost two decades in which Tehran was forced to market it at a discount due to international sanctions. EFE
