Iran says its actions in the Strait of Hormuz were not meant to create leverage, rejecting U.S. claims that Tehran has lost influence

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday that Tehran would continue its actions in the Strait of Hormuz, rejecting U.S. statements that the waterway no longer matters and Iran has lost its leverage. “The Americans’ claims do not match what we are seeing on the ground at all,” he said at a weekly news conference, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

Baqaei said he did not expect markets to pay much attention to the U.S. statements. He also stressed that what had happened in the strait was not intended to create leverage.

Tasnim reported that Baqaei said security would not return to the strait while the United States continued the war. He attributed the situation there to U.S. and Israeli actions and said Iran had acted in accordance with international law.