TEHRAN – Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday reiterated that the administration of the Strait of Hormuz and routes in the waterway will not be the same as they were in the past, according to the official news agency IRNA.
Araghchi made the remarks at a ceremony in the Iranian capital Tehran while stressing that "fundamental and strategic" changes have taken place in West Asia following the US-Israeli war against Iran.
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"We must accept that new realities have taken hold. The routes in the Strait of Hormuz will not be the same as they once were, and the strait's management will also not be as it was in the past," he said. "There are matters on which we have held negotiations, and these negotiations will continue."
The minister stressed that the region's security must be ensured by regional countries and without reliance on foreign forces, "who have come to the region aiming to safeguard their own interests and protect Israel, and whose continued presence will lead to nothing but insecurity for the entire region."
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He added that Iran was ready to cooperate with all regional countries.
On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
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Meanwhile, Iran's Army announced on Sunday that its air defense forces have intercepted and destroyed a US drone in the country's southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
The army said its air defense systems shot down the drone, the 54th US drone Iran has intercepted in the past few months, according to a statement published on its website.
Earlier this week, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that its air defense forces shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
