Iran says a planned meeting with officials from Gulf states to discuss the Strait of Hormuz has been postponed due to what it described as “events unfolding in Yemen”.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei disclosed the development while addressing a news conference on Monday.
Baghaei said Tehran and Oman had taken a joint decision aimed at developing a responsible approach to the management of the strategic waterway.
He said the planned meeting in Oman would have provided an opportunity for the participating countries to discuss the significance of the decisions reached by Iran and Oman.
Baghaei said Tehran and Oman had agreed on a joint approach concerning the management of the Strait of Hormuz. “Had this meeting took place, it would have been a very suitable opportunity [to discuss the new policy],” he said.
He added that Iran believed no responsible country would accept being dictated to or subjected to pressure by outside forces.
“I do not believe any responsible country would accept in any shape, way, or form to be dictated to or be subjected to pressure from any outside forces,” Baghaei said.
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The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and Oman and includes waters under their territorial jurisdiction, remains a major strategic shipping route and a focal point of regional tensions.
Baghaei said Saudi Arabia had requested the postponement of the meeting, while attributing the immediate delay to developments in Yemen. He also denied any Iranian involvement in the events unfolding in Yemen.
“Iran has no relations whatsoever with what is unfolding in Yemen,” Baghaei said, adding that Tehran does not interfere in the country’s affairs.
Tensions involving Saudi Arabia and Yemen have increased since July, when the Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, declared a naval blockade on their northwestern neighbour.
The situation escalated further last week after Houthi forces seized the port of Mocha, strengthening their position around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, said its forces had intercepted and destroyed an advanced MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC made the claim in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Monday.
According to the statement, the drone was intercepted using what the IRGC described as a new aerospace defence system. The reported interception adds another layer to the security tensions surrounding the strategic waterway.
Baghaei also addressed an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel on Sunday that resulted in the death of one person. He said two Pakistani citizens working aboard the vessel were injured in the incident.
The Iranian official accused the United States and Israel of continuing to target security in the Gulf. The latest developments come amid heightened regional tensions and growing concerns over maritime security around the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf region.
Al Jazeera
