Overview
- In a prepared statement at the United Nations, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Iran fully respects freedom of navigation under the law of the sea.
- Iravani framed current tensions as the consequence of what he called U.S. aggression against Iran that undermines regional security.
- The clarification followed remarks by new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who said the lever of blocking the strait must continue to be used.
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. Navy, potentially with an international coalition, would escort commercial ships when militarily possible.
- The waterway carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil exports, heightening the stakes of any disruption to maritime traffic.