Iranian parliament speaker says Hormuz Strait will not revert to pre-war status

Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told Al Jazeera that the Strait of Hormuz will "never return" to its status before the eight-month US-Israel war on Iran. He said Iran and Oman have reached an understanding to jointly oversee the waterway as part of Tehran's seven-point proposal to end the conflict.

Ghalibaf emphasized that the strait is governed by the laws of the two littoral states, not by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, stating, \"There are no ‘free waters’ [international waters] there, and the 1982 convention does not apply to the strait.\"

According to Ghalibaf, Iran conveyed its seven conditions for peace talks to the United States through a Qatari mediator and is now waiting for an official American reply. The conditions include lifting the U.S. naval blockade and sanctions, releasing frozen Iranian funds, ending hostilities on all fronts, and a formal declaration that the war is over. He added that these demands stem from the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed in June and must be fulfilled before negotiations can proceed.

Ghalibaf warned that a lack of trust in the United States hinders any agreement, noting, \"If America limits itself to what has been agreed upon without making excessive demands or engaging in behaviour that breeds distrust, then, naturally, reaching an agreement is possible.\"

He also mentioned that U.S. officials have asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to mediate direct talks with Tehran and cautioned against further U.S. attacks on Iran. Regarding the conflict in Yemen, Ghalibaf said Iran would consider assistance if both the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia request it, but stressed that no external party should interfere in the fighting.