Iranian officials have reassured Iraq that there would be freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the most critical oil shipping lane in the world, the Iraqi oil ministry said on Tuesday.
“Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (gave) reassurances to the Iraqi delegation ... around guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and respect for international law guaranteeing that,” Reuters quoted Iraq’s oil ministry statement as saying.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was visiting Tehran on Monday, where Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said, “Iran has been, and will be, the main guardian of security and freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman during history.”