'We are not going to close Strait of Hormuz, but...': Iran UN envoy says it's Tehran's right to preserve security of key waterway

'Current situation in the region is a direct consequence of ⁠destabilising actions ⁠of the United States'

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations has said that Tehran is not going to close the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠but added that it is Iran's right to ⁠preserve the security of the key shipping ‌route.

Amir Saeid Iravani ​made his comments to reporters at the United Nations on Thursday when asked about remarks by new Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who said on Thursday that ​the "lever of blocking the ⁠Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used".

"We are not going to close the Strait of Hormuz," Iravani said. "But it is ⁠our inherent ‌right to preserve the peace and security in this waterway."

In a prepared statement ‌he read to reporters before responding to questions, Iravani ⁠said that "Iran fully respects and remains committed to the principle of freedom of ‌navigation under the law of the ‌sea."

He said, "However, the current situation in the region, ‌including in the Strait of Hormuz, is ‌not the result of Iran's lawful exercise of its right of self-defense. Rather, it is the direct consequence of ⁠the destabilising actions ⁠of the United States in launching aggression against Iran and undermining regional security."

He said he had no response to a comment by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told Sky News in an interview on Thursday that the ​US Navy, perhaps with an international coalition, would ​escort vessels through ​the Strait of Hormuz when it is militarily possible. 

(With Reuters inputs)