Iran has agreed to establish a Strait of Hormuz “telephone hotline” aimed at helping “prevent and resolve any misunderstandings” with the United States and other countries as ships pass through the strategically
important waterway.
Speaking to Iranian state media while returning from negotiations in Switzerland on Monday, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tehran and Washington had “reached an agreement to establish coordination mechanisms — a telephone hotline and a centre so that if any ambiguity or issue arises, ships can contact that centre.”
Ghalibaf said the Strait of Hormuz would now be “managed under Iranian arrangements” and would “never return to what it was before the war.”
He added that Iran “will implement international laws precisely” and move swiftly to address any issues that arise in the waterway.
“Naturally, just as problems may arise in Lebanon or elsewhere, problems can also arise in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, adding, “As you’ve seen, on some nights there have even been clashes.”
According to Ghalibaf, the hotline is intended to ensure “the highest level of safety and traffic flow.”
Explaining how the mechanism would work, he said: “If Americans have any objection to anything, or if any vessels or ships need clarity on any route or anything … they [can] call.”
Ghalibaf also claimed that negotiations in Switzerland had finalised Iran’s access to $12 billion in frozen funds as well as details related to the lifting of oil sanctions.
US-Iran Negotiations In Switzerland
Iranian officials said the talks resumed and continued for around 80 minutes, with discussions focusing on sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian assets and the implementation of commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.
US Vice-President JD Vance described Sunday as a “very, very good day” and said the two sides made “a lot of good progress” during the negotiations.
The first round of quadrilateral talks under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was aimed at advancing a broader agreement between Washington and Tehran.
