▲ Esmaeil Baghaei, Spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly rejected the United States' arbitrary interpretation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the Strait of Hormuz, warning that any neighboring country that provides its territory for U.S. or Israeli attacks against Iran will be subject to retaliatory strikes without exception.
Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated during a briefing on July 13 (local time) regarding the controversy over the interpretation of Article 5 of the MOU on the Strait of Hormuz, "Interpretations that contradict the explicit provisions will never be permitted."
He explained, "Based on reasonable suspicion and absolute distrust of the United States, the clause was drafted with extreme precision to ensure that no room is left for the U.S. to interpret it arbitrarily."
This reaffirms Iran's long-standing position that the U.S. recognized Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz through Article 5 of the previous MOU.
Based on this logic, Iran has attacked vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz that deviated from the routes it designated, which has led to the recurrence of armed conflicts with the U.S.
To emphasize the effort Iran has put into securing control over the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei recalled the fact that the strait was misused to undermine Iran's security during the Iran-Iraq War.
He also emphasized that as the country with the longest coastline in the Persian Gulf and a littoral state, Iran has the legitimate right and duty to manage the strait to ensure security, national interests, and safe passage.
Furthermore, Baghaei blamed the U.S. entirely for the recent instability in regional maritime security.
He argued that even though Iran has been transparently consulting with countries like Oman to implement the MOU and faithfully following the procedures within the clauses, the U.S. has violated the MOU and escalated tensions by inciting regional countries to create deceptive bypass (parallel) routes.
Baghaei also expressed a clear position regarding concerns from neighboring countries over recent airstrikes on U.S. military bases in the region.
"Iran will not attack any country in the region, and Iran's defensive strikes are limited solely to bases, facilities, and positions used by the U.S. to attack Iran," Baghaei said.
However, he urged neighboring countries, stating, "They have a duty under good neighborliness and international law to prevent their territory and facilities from being used by the U.S. and Israel to attack Iran," and warned repeatedly, "Any country's territory or region used to attack Iran will inevitably become a target of Iran's defensive (retaliatory) measures."
(Photo: Captured from IRIB Telegram channel, Yonhap News)
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