IRAN SAYS IT HAS NOT CLOSED THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

NEW DELHI, March 6 (Bernama) -- Iran has not closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital sea passage for energy transport, in its ongoing war with the United States and Israel, Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Friday.

Khatibzadeh, speaking at a conference in New Delhi, attributed the sharp drop in shipping traffic via the strait to the reluctance of insurance companies to insure vessels coming to the area.

"We have not closed the Strait of Hormuz and we have no intention to do that until further notice," he said.

"If we close it, we are going to announce it," Khatibzadeh said, adding that such a measure will be taken "responsibly" as Iran is an "anchor of stability" in the region.

The US-Israeli attack on Iran and the Iranian retaliation across the region have created travel chaos and disrupted energy flows.

Iran will continue its resistance against the Israeli-US attempt to topple the government, the deputy foreign minister told reporters.

"They are carpet-bombing Iran out of frustration because they would like to see a new Middle East," he said.

"Americans have assassinated the head of another state. If this is the new norm, then no country can have diplomatic, normal relations with another country," he said, referring to the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the US-Israeli bombing on February 28.

"America has decided to put an end to the existence of Iran. The Israelis have been promising this for many decades due to their delusion about Greater Israel," Khatibzadeh said, referring to the Zionist ideological project to occupy not only all of Palestine but areas or all of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

Khatibzadeh said the US has military bases all over the region to target Iran.

"We have no option but to put an end to the presence of the United States in the surrounding area of Iran," he said.

-- BERNAMA