Iran war news LIVE Updates: Iran’s state TV, quoting an informed security source in Tehran, challenged US claims that the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz is functioning normally. The source asked why Washington is pressing Iran for an agreement if oil traffic through the waterway is flowing as claimed.
They told state-run Press TV on Saturday that US assertions about the volume of oil transiting the southern route were “contrary to realities on the ground” and part of what the source described as a broader psychological campaign aimed at influencing global energy prices.
According to the source, Washington is seeking to portray the southern route through Hormuz as operating smoothly while presenting the northern route designated by Iran as ineffective.
The source said Iran’s efforts to keep the strait closed were continuing, pointing to attacks on vessels accused of violating Iranian regulations and to tankers changing course after receiving warnings.
Iran on Oman deal: Hormuz remains closed pending…
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Saturday that Iran and Oman had reached an understanding over the Strait of Hormuz, but that it would not be implemented until the United States fulfilled its commitments under the Islamabad MoU, Iranian media reported.
“The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and any vessel passing through the strait does so in coordination with Iran,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on Saturday.
“We will continue our own defensive measures and are prepared for any scenario,” he added.
On recent visits to Iran by Qatari and Pakistani officials, Gharibabadi said their efforts were aimed at determining whether there was a possibility of returning to implementation of the commitments under the Islamabad MoU.
Iraq seeks to ‘be a bridge’ between Iran and US
Iraq wants to serve as a bridge between Iran and the United States to help the two sides reach an agreement that protects the interests of the wider region, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s security adviser Qassim al-Araji said on Saturday.
“We have a good relationship with Iran and the United States, and we seek to be a bridge,” al-Araji told Al Jazeera. He also said Iran had stressed the need to remove extremist groups from Iraq.
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