Iranian lawmaker vows Tehran “will never relinquish its control over the Strait of Hormuz”

Alaaeddin Boroujerdi, Deputy Head of the National Security Committee in the Iranian Parliament, said Wednesday that Iran “will never relinquish its control over the Strait of Hormuz.”

In remarks broadcast by Iranian state media, Boroujerdi claimed Iran still had sufficient missile stockpiles to sustain several years of war, adding that the U.S. and other Western countries had “come to believe in the capabilities of the Islamic Republic.”

He said Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was managing negotiations with the U.S., which have been carried out only indirectly, via Pakistani mediators, since a first round of unsuccessful direct talks in early April.

Since then Iran has maintained an effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for global energy supplies, only permitting a select few vessels to transit the waterway with coordination — and reportedly for large fees. The U.S., in response, has imposed a military blockade of all Iranian ports and vessels linked to the country.

Boroujerdi dismissed those U.S. actions as ineffective, calling the blockade “a passive and worthless move” and claiming the U.S. would “not dare act” against some vessels “because they belong to other countries, such as China and others that the United States does not dare confront.”

The Pentagon said that, as of Tuesday, it had forced 39 vessels attempting to enter or depart from Iranian ports to turn around since the blockade began.