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Tehran, Iran Iran has said there will be no direct contact between US and Iranian forces as part of a call by Washington to de-escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman Hossein Mohebi dismissed reports on Friday of direct contact between the US and Iran to control the vital waterway.
They came like the US and Iran they exchanged fire on Friday and Saturday after merchant ships sailing outside Tehran’s designated route were attacked by unknown perpetrators.
“The claims of American officials regarding the establishment of a direct line between Iran and the United States on the Strait of Hormuz” are completely false, Mohebi wrote on X.
“This did not happen and will not happen … The Strait of Hormuz is part of Iran and has no relationship with the United States.”
Communication methods
Mohebi X’s note did not elaborate on whether Tehran simply refused direct military contact with Washington, or whether a more diplomatic-led approach would work.
Vice President JD Vance told reporters Monday after a meeting between Washington and Tehran officials in Switzerland that a A “way on the Iranian side” to reduce tensions in the Gulf will be established. He said that directly military and military communications had already been agreed between the two sides.
“They (Iran) were like, ‘Okay, we’re going to send someone from the IRGC to visit Doha and someone from CENTCOM,’ and that’s how we’re going to resolve most of these conflicts,” Vance told UK media outlet UnHerd. The IRGC is considered a “foreign terrorist organization” by the US government.
On Friday, the Iranian journalist Iran Press TV reported that a communication channel was established between the two sides in the Strait of Hormuz after the conclusion of the Swiss negotiations.
Its aim was to “help prevent situations that could lead to an escalation of hostilities” and to comply with the provisions of Article 5 of the MoU, it said.
Section 5 talks about the resumption of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, after the major disruption of the waterway since the US-Israeli launched their war on Iran on February 28.
Press TV also said that Iran and Oman “will ensure the future management and maritime activities of the Strait of Hormuz, in consultation with other countries of the Persian Gulf littoral and in accordance with international law and the sovereignty of the countries of the Strait of Hormuz”.
New conflicts
The Singapore-flagged ship, Ever Lovely, was hit by an unidentified object on Thursday while transiting through the Strait of Hormuz which was approved by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). They had been stranded at sea for more than 100 days after unloading cargo at an Iraqi port.
The US Central Command said on Friday that naval forces on the coast of southern Iran had been targeted “as a strong response to yesterday’s attack on a naval vessel that was passing through the Strait of Hormuz”.
Bahrain faced drone attacks on Saturday morning after the US attack – the first exchange of fire between the US and Iran. since the MoU was signed on 17 June.
Iran has ordered ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to use a channel established by its military – near Iran’s coast – or face threats to return or be monitored.
Vance on Friday warned Tehran that “violence will be met with violence”.
“If they have a disagreement about how the MoU is being implemented, they can pick up the phone,” he wrote on X.
The IRGC has challenged the communication process between Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), it says. they were not asked.
The UKMTO on Saturday upgraded the threat in the Strait of Hormuz to “serious” following the targeting of merchant ships, but it is unclear whether military clashes will resume.
