Iranian parliamentary committee approves Hormuz Strait security action plan

Tehran, Aug 10 (IANS) The Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee has approved the general outlines of a strategic action plan to “ensure the security and sustainable progress” of the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The plan was discussed at a committee meeting and approved without opposition, IRNA quoted committee spokesperson Hassan Qashqavi as saying.

Qashqavi said lawmakers reviewed submissions from relevant Iranian bodies before endorsing the plan’s general framework, Xinhua news agency reported.

The legislation was formally introduced to the parliament on July 13, according to IRNA.

Iran tightened its grip on the strait on February 28, barring safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.

In June, Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon. The two sides were scheduled to hold negotiations within a 60-day period to reach a final agreement, but recent escalation in the region has left the talks’ fate uncertain.

In July, the US military launched multiple waves of strikes on Iranian targets, saying they were in response to Iranian attacks on vessels in the strait and aimed at “degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping.” Iran responded with missile and drone strikes on US military bases and facilities in the region.

Iran and Oman have been negotiating since a few weeks ago to reach an agreement on the designation of a new route in the strait for safe maritime traffic.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Aragchi stated that there are currently no ongoing negotiations with the United States.

The Foreign Minister’s stance came while speaking to reporters at the Centre for Political and International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

“We currently have no negotiations with the United States. Intermediaries are still making efforts to find ways to resume negotiations. From our perspective, there can be no resumption of talks until the United States ends its violations of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and makes amends for the breaches it has committed,” Aragchi said.

“Until the violations of the memorandum of understanding by the United States are ended and the United States does not make amends for what it has violated, in our opinion, there is no possibility of resuming negotiations,” he noted, according to Tasnim.

–IANS

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