Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has reiterated that, “The Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian.” He added that “this strait will only be closed and opened under Iran’s command.”

Gharibabadi’s remarks on Saturday came as US President Donald Trump claimed he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory.

Last week, a top Iranian official set out a list of conditions for reopening the strait, including an end to the “war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq”.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr also demanded the end of crippling sanctions, the release of frozen assets and compensation for wartime damage.

US-Iran talks

As diplomacy stalls between the longtime foes, attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have continued, highlighting the continued risks to regional shipping.

The United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil giant ADNOC said on Saturday that one of its vessels came under attack the night before. Abu Dhabi’s foreign ministry later blamed Tehran, and said that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were engaged in “acts of piracy” in the strait.

In Lebanon

At least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes on the south of the country Saturday, Lebanese officials said, marking the deadliest day since a June ceasefire agreement.

Israel said it was responding to a Hezbollah attack that wounded three Israeli soldiers.

Iran strongly condemned the latest Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon as the “brutal attacks” carried out by the “Zionist regime” on several areas of Lebanon, including Al-Ansar, Ali Al-Taher heights, Nabatieh al-Faouqa and Deir al-Zahrani, according to Tasnim News.

Iran claims Qatar is holding pilots

Iran claimed that Qatar was holding three of its pilots who had been missing since March, which Qatar denied. Until now, Tehran had said it had no information about their fate.

This is the first known case in the war where Iran has said a regional country is holding its fighters. Qatar on March 2 said its air force shot down two Iranian bombers as Tehran lashed out against countries hosting US military bases in the opening days of the war.

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