Iran's military warns 'security for all or none' as US naval blockade threat looms

[0:00] All right, well, we are live in Washington, D.C., Tehran, London, as well as Beijing, [0:05] first to Tawheed Asadi, standing by for us in the Iranian capital. [0:10] Tawheed, what has the Iranian government been saying to such a huge threat there from Trump? [0:19] Not from the government, but we've got a very strong message from the headquarters of Khatam-ul-Ambia, [0:24] known as the Joint Military Headquarter. [0:28] And they are coming with this strong message that in case there is a security, [0:34] it's going to be either for all or for none. [0:37] And that is the message that we heard from them. [0:39] Also, they're saying that there is going to be a decisive course of action [0:43] in case the security of the ports of the country in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman is threatened. [0:51] Meanwhile, we've got them from the statement. [0:55] They're saying that vessels affiliated with the enemy, they have no right to go through the passage of the Strait of Hormuz. [1:05] And that is in line with the message that we heard from IRGC, [1:09] saying that in case any of the enemies, vessels, ships, or all tankers, [1:15] approach the Strait of Hormuz, there are going to be tough repercussions for them. [1:20] And obviously, that is part and parcel of the grand strategy that we have been hearing from the Iranian side over the past few days and weeks. [1:28] The supreme leader of the country, Yaatollah Mujtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader, [1:33] came out in a statement in which he said that there is going to be a new regime, [1:37] a new management over the Strait of Hormuz. [1:40] And take it to the context that Iran is trying to use that as a leverage point when it comes to Iran's situation in the region [1:48] and when it comes to the security context in the region. [1:51] We know that part of Iran's leverage across the region, including when it comes to Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, [1:58] have been already lost. [2:00] So, this is a new point, a new strategically significant choke point, to be specific, [2:06] from which Iran tries to gain benefit. [2:09] And on that also, we know that Iran is talking about plans to impose transit fees, [2:15] transit charges for the ships planning to go through this Strait of Hormuz. [2:22] And obviously, that's going to be very much important when it comes to the role of this choke point on the global energy market. [2:30] Okay, stay with us, Tawheed, because mediators are urging the U.S. and Iran to uphold the ceasefire. [2:38] And the negotiations in Pakistan at the weekend ended without a long-term agreement. [2:43] Now, in a post on social media, Iran's foreign minister says the talks were the most extensive at the highest level, [2:50] he says, in 47 years, and that Iran engaged with the U.S. in good faith to end war. [2:56] But Abbas Arashi goes on to say, when the parties were inches away from a memorandum of understanding, [3:02] Iran encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade. [3:07] And he ends with, zero lessons were learned, goodwill begets goodwill, and enmity begets enmity. [3:13] Tawheed, so, you know, quite a strong statement there from the Iranians. [3:18] The Iranians seem to have been quite consistent throughout this war. [3:23] Do they now believe that with this threat of a blockade, that means the talks are over? [3:31] We can say it's fully over. [3:33] There is still a chance for the diplomatic engagement. [3:37] The Iranian side previously said that it is in contact with Islamabad, and that is obviously important. [3:43] But that doesn't mean that we should ignore the realities on the ground. [3:48] First of which, obviously, is the very fact that when it comes to the positions, the two sides are poles apart. [3:55] And we heard the word maximalist from Abbas Arashi, the same word that we heard ahead of the talks when it comes to Iran's position to the American proposal. [4:05] Here we are dealing with the 10-point proposal from the Iranian side on the one hand and the 15-point proposal. [4:12] And if you want to jump from the American side, of course, and if you want to juxtapose these two, we can see that the two sides are poles apart. [4:20] There are several sticking points. [4:22] The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says two or three major ones, which includes most probably issues related to the nuclear dossier of the country, [4:30] most important of which I can say the highly enriched uranium stockpile, also when it comes to the situation of Strait of Hormuz, [4:38] and also when it comes to the ceasefire across the region, in particular the ceasefire in Lebanese front, which is a key demand from the Iranian side. [4:47] But beside these key controversial issues, we know that there are other issues, such as the security assurances that Iran is looking for, [4:55] the ballistic missile of the country, as well as the sanction relief, and the frozen assets of the country, and the list goes on and on. [5:04] We know that these talks are very unprecedented in that they included a much wider domain of issues, controversial issues. [5:14] But besides these controversial issues, we know that two other important factors are out there. [5:19] First, lack of trust, and then secondly, a parallel rhetoric of preparedness for any confrontation down the road. [5:28] And that is something that creates a huge amount of complexity in this already intricate situation. [5:34] Okay, thank you very much. [5:35] That's the update there from Tawheed Asadi in Iran.