Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Pezeshkian said Iran could not accept a system in which other countries benefited from the strategic waterway while Tehran itself faced restrictions on shipping. “We cannot be the historical guardian of a waterway that everyone benefits from, yet be deprived of the freedom of navigation even in our own waters,” he said.
He also warned that the permanent deployment of what Iran regards as hostile naval forces would not create maritime security. “The security of shipping cannot be ensured by undermining the security of coastal states,” Pezeshkian said, linking freedom of passage through Hormuz directly to sanctions relief and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.
The remarks came after Iranian and US representatives exchanged messages through a Qatari mediator in New York on Tuesday, their first known indirect talks since a ceasefire collapsed in July. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner took part through intermediaries, with Tehran presenting conditions for ending the conflict.
Iran’s stated demands include an end to the war on all fronts, an end to US military pressure, the lifting of the naval blockade and the release of frozen Iranian assets. Tehran has also said it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if Washington eased military pressure and removed restrictions on Iranian ports and vessels.
A senior Iranian official said on Wednesday that substantial differences remained between the two sides, although diplomacy was continuing. Washington, for its part, has insisted that the strait remain fully open to international shipping and has rejected Iran’s efforts to exercise greater control over the passage and collect fees from vessels using it.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any agreement would require sustained negotiations and reiterated that President Donald Trump retained military options. Trump told the General Assembly on Tuesday that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon and said he was weighing whether to pursue an agreement or intensify military action.
Pezeshkian responded by saying Iran would not surrender to threats, while maintaining that Tehran remained prepared for dialogue. He said Iran did not seek nuclear weapons but would not relinquish its right to peaceful nuclear technology. The nuclear dispute, he said, could not be settled on the battlefield and required an agreement that protected Iran’s rights while providing assurances about the peaceful nature of its programme.
The Strait of Hormuz has become one of the central issues in efforts to end the nearly seven-month US-Iran conflict. Before the war, roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed through the narrow waterway linking the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Commercial traffic has continued at reduced and irregular levels despite repeated attacks and heightened military activity. Britain’s maritime security agency said a cargo vessel was struck by projectiles this week, leaving two crew members injured before the crew was evacuated and the ship left burning and adrift.
Energy markets have remained sensitive to developments around the strait. Oil prices rose on Wednesday as traders assessed Pezeshkian’s comments, the state of the negotiations and the risk that fighting could again disrupt Gulf exports.
Despite the disruption, some Gulf producers have restored export volumes by using alternative routes and ship transfers beyond the strait, while quantities of regional crude remain absent from world markets.
Tehran’s position also faces resistance inside Iran. Media aligned with hardline factions have criticised contacts with US representatives, arguing that Iran had already communicated its conditions and should not offer Washington further diplomatic openings.
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