Iran has warned that energy infrastructure across the Middle East could become unsafe if Tehran’s oil exports and security interests are not guaranteed, escalating tensions as it awaits a response from Washington on its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf issued the warning in a video broadcast on Iranian state television on September 29, as Tehran pressed for conditions it says could restore shipping through the strategic waterway.
“In a region where we cannot sell oil, no one else will sell oil either; or if our security is not guaranteed, no infrastructure will remain safe,” Qalibaf said.
The warning came as Iran awaited an official US response to a proposal submitted last week that would allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen within seven days and nuclear negotiations with Washington to resume.
Under Tehran’s proposal, the reopening would be conditional on Washington easing sanctions on Iranian oil sales, lifting its naval blockade of ships heading to Iran and reinstating a regional cease-fire.
US President Donald Trump has dismissed the proposal, although he has indicated that further discussions between American and Iranian negotiators could take place this week.
The standoff has kept the Strait of Hormuz at the centre of the conflict. Before the war, the waterway served as a major transit route for about one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies.
Despite US assertions that the strait remains open, Iran has claimed control over the passage, while vessels continue to come under attack in the area. Direct air attacks by the two sides, however, have eased in recent days.
As Tehran awaited Washington’s response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) published an open letter to American voters on September 29, urging them to influence US policy toward the conflict.
The IRGC blamed Washington for starting the war on February 28 and said Iran and the United States could coexist if American policy changed.
The letter also claimed that more than 3,600 Iranians, mostly civilians, had been killed during the conflict, including about 400 children. The United States has said 18 of its service members have died in the war.
The IRGC acknowledged that air strikes had damaged parts of Iran’s nuclear industry and a “limited” number of air-defence sites. It nevertheless repeated Tehran’s position that its nuclear programme was intended solely for civilian purposes.
RFE/RL said it contacted the US State Department for a response to the IRGC letter but had not received an immediate reply.
The appeal comes ahead of the US midterm elections on November 3, when all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the 100 Senate seats will be contested.