Iran says Hormuz Strait will 'never return' to pre-war status

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the Strait of Hormuz will "never return" to its pre-war status, as Tehran awaits an official US response to its seven conditions for ending the eight-month conflict. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Ghalibaf said Iran and Oman reached an understanding to oversee the waterway, arguing that the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea does not apply there and that regulations are governed by the two bordering littoral states. Iran's conditions include lifting the US naval blockade and sanctions, releasing frozen funds, ending fighting on all fronts, and an explicit declaration of war's end, delivered via Qatari mediation. Ghalibaf said US officials asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to mediate direct talks, and warned that new US attacks would lead to another defeat for President Donald Trump. He also said Iran seeks a sustainable deterrent capability, and on Yemen's conflict, he stated no one should interfere, though Iran would assist if asked by both the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia.