Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz is not international waters and warned foreign military forces near Iranian territory to leave the region, as tensions escalated around the strategic waterway.
In a statement posted on social media, Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz is shared by Iran and Oman and lies thousands of miles from U.S. shores, adding that Iran’s armed forces remain on constant alert against any violation of the country’s airspace, land or waters.
He warned that “foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire.”
“To reduce risk, the best solution is for foreign forces to exit, as soon as possible, an environment which will never be hospitable to a hostile presence,” he added.
The statement came shortly after Trump said he had been informed by the U.S. military that Iranian forces shot down a “highly sophisticated” Apache helicopter while it was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said both pilots were safe and uninjured but added that the United States “must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
Araghchi said Iran preferred diplomacy but signaled that Tehran was prepared to respond to threats.
“Iran prefers the language of diplomacy. However, as our Brave Warriors have shown to the world, we know how to speak other languages too,” he said.
The exchange of statements highlighted a sharp escalation in tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route that has long been a flashpoint between Iran and the United States.
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