Iran has issued a threat of “serious consequences” as Tehran fumes over Donald Trump’s claim that the Strait of Hormuz will never be closed again.
Iran’s presidential spokesman Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Tabatabai criticized the “baseless statements of the enemy”, shortly after Mr Trump said Iran had agreed never to close the Strait of Hormuz.
“The conditional and limited reopening of a portion of the Strait of Hormuz is entirely an Iranian initiative, one that creates responsibility and serves to test the opposing side’s firm commitments,” Tabatabei said on X. “If they go back on their promises, they will have to face serious consequences.”
Writing on Truth Social earlier today (April 17), the US President said, “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the world! President Donald J. Trump”.
Tabatabei also suggested that Trump’s statements were intended to “undermine the Iranian nation’s sense of pride for the great victories achieved through its steadfast defense”.
In Iran, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was linked to a ceasefire in Lebanon. In a post shared on Twitter, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to link the two incidents.
Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam said the ceasefire in Lebanon and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz “have more or less laid the groundwork for comprehensive, integrated and united efforts to establish lasting peace”.
Reuters journalist Jana Chaucer A senior Iranian official told the agency: Keeping the Strait of Hormuz open is conditional on Iran-U.S. compliance; Important differences between Iran and America remain, including the nuclear issue, need for serious talks; A preliminary agreement could be reached in the coming days, with the possibility of extending the ceasefire, such a preliminary agreement could leave room for negotiations on lifting sanctions, securing compensation for war damages; And finally, if Iran’s demands are met it is prepared to reassure the world about the peaceful nature of its nuclear work.
However, Trump wrote another Truth Social post saying, “Again! This deal is not connected to Lebanon in any way, but we will make Lebanon great again!”
Trump also targeted NATO and Britain in one of his messages. One of his social media posts read: “Now that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is over, I got a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I told them to stay away, unless they just wanted to fill their ships with oil. They were useless when needed, a paper tiger! President DJT.”
