Iran not laying mines in Strait of Hormuz: Deputy FM
Says Iran will make sure war is not 'imposed' again
Iran wants to ensure that a war will not be imposed again on it in the future, deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told AFP, as the conflict raged with the United States and Israel.
"We want to see that war is not going to be imposed again on Iran," said Takht-Ravanchi in an interview in Tehran.
"When the war started last June, after 12 days there was so called cessation of hostilities... but after eight or nine months, they regrouped and they did it again."
Also, Takht-Ravanchi said that Iran allowed ships from some countries to cross Strait of Hormuz. He said Iran is not laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. His remarks came in response to US President Donald Trump's claim that US forces struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels in the waterway.
"Not at all. This is not true," said Takht-Ravanchi when asked about reports of Iran laying mines in the strategic waterway.
Extraordinary Session on Strait of Hormuz
In a related development, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will convene an "extraordinary session" next week to discuss threats to shipping in the Middle East and particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, the agency said Thursday.
The meeting, scheduled for March 18-19 at the IMO headquarters in London, was requested by six of IMO's 40 members: Britain, Egypt, France, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
It comes amidst fears about the choking off of global energy supplies triggering rocketing energy prices.
The Strait of Hormuz -- through which a fifth of global crude passes -- has effectively shut down by Iranian retaliatory attacks against ships and its Gulf neighbours.
On Thursday, an attack on two oil tankers off Iraq killed at least one crew member, while a cargo ship caught fire after being hit by shrapnel.
Iran's new supreme leader ordered the Strait of Hormuz to remain closed on Thursday, while US President Donald Trump said stopping the Islamic republic's "evil empire" was more important than crude prices.
Oil prices soared Thursday to above $100 and stock markets extended losses.