Gharibabadi: Iran will not accept domination of the Strait of Hormuz and guarantees safe passage for ships

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, said on Saturday, 25 July 2026, that Iran will not accept any domination of the Strait of Hormuz, while adding that safe and peaceful passage for ships through the waterway is guaranteed.

The remarks came with commercial traffic through the strait sharply reduced for weeks and war risk premiums for tankers at unprecedented levels. Diplomatic contacts over a transit mechanism are continuing in parallel: an Omani diplomatic delegation arrived in Tehran on Saturday for talks on the same subject.

Before the war the Strait of Hormuz carried about a fifth of the world's oil. Any sign of reopening, or of tighter restrictions, feeds directly into global oil prices and through them into Iran's export revenue, inflation expectations and its currency and gold markets.