Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has issued a warning against the deployment or activity of “extra-regional powers” in the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining that Tehran will hold those responsible for creating regional tensions “fully accountable” for their actions.
The remarks came as a direct response to a joint statement issued by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The European leaders had announced a pact with Oman to help secure its sovereign waters and expressed readiness to deploy a broader “Multinational Military Mission” to ensure freedom of navigation through the strategic maritime chokepoint.
Gharibabadi rejected the Western initiative, stating unequivocally that the critical waterway would not be allowed to become a staging ground for foreign military posturing. “The Strait of Hormuz is not a theatre for the military display of extra-regional powers,” the deputy foreign minister wrote, adding that Iran views any foreign military movements in the area with serious concern.
Guarantor of maritime security
The senior diplomat emphasised that the responsibility for maintaining the security of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz lies exclusively with the coastal and littoral states, rather than external alliances. He cautioned that those he described as “crisis-makers” would bear the full weight of the consequences stemming from their maritime “adventurism”.
“Iran, as the responsible power and guarantor of the Strait’s security, warns with sensitivity to any military movement in this waterway,” Gharibabadi stated, adding that this constituted a “serious warning”.
The diplomatic friction comes at a sensitive time, following a UN-recognised US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding signed in June to restore regional stability.
However, London and Paris have continued to express concens over the safety of global energy supplies, calling the Strait a “vital artery for the global economy.”
With a significant portion of the world’s petroleum transit passing through the narrow corridor daily, Tehran’s latest warning signals an uncompromising stance against European naval integration near its territorial waters
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