TEHRAN : Iran has intensified its warnings against countries in the Middle East, threatening to target regional infrastructure if Tehran’s security is not guaranteed, as negotiations continue over the possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials are awaiting a formal response from the United States to a proposal aimed at reopening the strategic waterway. U.S. President Donald Trump has already rejected the proposal, while Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was expecting a formal response from Washington through Qatari mediators.
Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, issued a fresh warning on Tuesday, saying that no infrastructure in the region would remain safe if Iran was prevented from exporting oil or if its security was not guaranteed.
The warning comes as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz remain high. Fighting has eased in recent weeks, but Iran has continued targeting ships in and around the waterway, while the United States has relied increasingly on economic pressure rather than launching further military operations.
Iran has maintained a blockade of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began in late February following U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran.
Before the conflict, the strategic waterway carried roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, making its disruption a major concern for international energy markets.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Qatar had presented proposals aimed at resolving the dispute and reopening the strait. According to Iranian officials, Doha was expected to communicate further with Washington before conveying the U.S. response to Tehran.
Iran has demanded several conditions for ending the blockade, including a seven-day ceasefire across the Middle East, including Lebanon, the release of frozen Iranian assets held abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Washington and Tehran have offered conflicting accounts of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States says some oil shipments are still passing through the waterway, while Iran maintains that the strait remains effectively closed to normal commercial shipping.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday that claims that the waterway remains open were misleading. Iranian officials argued that a few vessels transporting limited amounts of oil under highly restricted conditions should not be considered normal commercial traffic.
Before the conflict, more than 100 vessels reportedly passed through the strait each day, carrying millions of barrels of oil and petroleum products.
Iran has also warned that vessels attempting to pass through the waterway could face attacks or the threat of mines.
The continued standoff has placed additional pressure on Gulf countries, some of which have also been affected by Iranian attacks during the conflict.
Qatar has been involved in diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said several meetings and communications had taken place between the parties, including discussions in New York.
He said the current diplomatic efforts were focused on finding common ground and urged Iran to take steps to distance neighboring countries from the conflict and clearly commit to non-aggression toward them.
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