ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Strait of Hormuz falls under Iran's mandate, a senior Iranian foreign ministry official said Thursday, censuring a high-profile security meeting attended by a dozen regional Arab states for allegedly trying to “build legal order and security” in the Gulf. The remarks come as stalled US-Iran talks are set to resume next week, after the former supreme leader's funeral, the Qatari mediator confirmed.
“[The Strait of] Hormuz is defined under Iran's command and not [the US Central Command] CENTCOM,” Gharibabadi, deputy for legal and international affairs at Tehran's foreign ministry, said in a statement posted on X.
"A military gathering in Bahrain cannot build legal order and security for the Persian Gulf," he added, noting regional security is maintained "through the end of intervention and America's withdrawal from the region, respect for the sovereignty of states, and acceptance of new geopolitical realities - not under America's military umbrella."
The remarks come a day after the Bahrain Defense Force hosted a regional security dialogue Wednesday, with CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper and defense leaders from 12 nations - Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen - in attendance.
The meeting "discussed the current regional security environment and opportunities for enhancing defense collaboration across the region," a statement from the Command relayed, adding that "leaders underscored their shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz" and "to regional security and stability."
The statement further noted that "the United States and regional partners operate the world's most sophisticated and largest active air and missile defense umbrella across the Middle East," pointing to "a new Middle Eastern Air Defense coordination cell" established in January "for sharing information and threat warnings as well as responding to contingencies."
"We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our regional partners,” the Command quoted Cooper as affirming.
In mid-June, Iran and the US signed the Islamabad Memorandum, which establishes a cessation of military operations on all fronts and provides for talks aimed at reaching a comprehensive, binding settlement for the regional war within 60 days of its signing, with the possibility of extension by mutual consent.
However, the preliminary understanding was severely tested last week after it briefly collapsed into high-intensity military exchanges across the region before backchannel diplomacy led to an emergency stand-down.
US Vice President JD Vance and Trump Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met directly with Iranian chief negotiator and Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on June 21 at the Lake Lucerne Summit, held at the Burgenstock resort overlooking the lake in Switzerland, to discuss the implementation of the Islamabad MoU.
However, following last week’s escalation, American and Iranian negotiators have opted for indirect engagement.
Qatar's foreign ministry Spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said late Wednesday that mediators from Pakistan and Qatar “concluded separate meetings with the US and Iranian negotiators in Doha today,” pointing to “positive progress” on the preliminary agreement.
“The parties agreed to continue discussions over the coming period, with the next meeting to be scheduled at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions of the former Iranian Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei],” he further detailed in a post on X.
Based on the latest reports, Khamenei's (1939 - 2026) funeral is set to be held over several days across multiple Iranian cities, starting with the capital Tehran on Friday and Saturday and ending with the final rites and burial in Iran’s northern shrine city of Mashhad on Wednesday.
The slow down in the talks comes as Ghalibaf said on Tuesday that Iran "will not enter" comprehensive agreement negotiations with the US until key provisions of the 14-point understanding are implemented, namely an immediate halt to military operations between Iran, the US and their allies on all fronts, including Lebanon.
He further described Tehran’s “sovereignty” over the Strait of Hormuz as “definite and unquestionable.”
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