Tehran.- Iran warned this Tuesday that it will block the passage through the Strait of Hormuz to ships of any company or country that receives funds from its frozen assets, after US President Donald Trump proposed using that money to compensate vessels affected during the conflict.
“We inform all companies and countries that accept Trump’s proposal and make use of Iranian assets blocked for this purpose that, from now on, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow the transit of any of their vessels through the Strait of Hormuz,” stated the spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Colonel Ebrahim Zolfagari, as reported by the Tasnim agency.
The military spokesperson lashed out at Trump over the proposal to compensate vessels that have suffered damage during the war with frozen Iranian funds, and denounced the United States’ “acts of aggression” and its “continued efforts to destabilize the region.”
“We warn the criminal president of the United States about the consequences of this illegal measure,” Zolfagari maintained.
Frozen Iranian assets
Last Thursday, Trump said that the United States will use frozen Iranian assets to pay for the ships and cargo damaged in the attacks in and around the Gulf, statements that Tehran described as an “inflammatory precedent.”
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Trump’s statements came amid the escalation between Iran and the United States that began in early July, after Tehran attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in response to the opening, with U.S. support, of an alternative transit route promoted by Oman.
Tehran insists that ships will only be able to cross the strait using the route specified by the Iranian authorities.
Washington responded to Iranian actions in Hormuz with 13 consecutive days of bombing against the Islamic Republic, after terminating the memorandum of understanding reached in mid-June to end the war.
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Tehran responded with missile and drone launches against U.S. targets in several Middle Eastern countries.
Although cross-border attacks have ceased since Friday, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remains restricted due to the blockade imposed by Iran since July 12. In response, the United States re-established a naval siege on Iranian ports and vessels in the area two days later.
