Our Legitimate Rights: In response to Donald Trump, Iran demands end of the war and release of assets

On Sunday, May 10, American President Donald Trump deemed the response from Iran to end the war as “totally unacceptable”.

In response to the American proposals, Iran demanded on Monday, May 11, the end of the war in the region, including in Lebanon, and the unblocking of frozen Iranian assets, as stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The spokesman for the ministry, Esmaël Baghaï, stated, “The only thing we have demanded are Iran’s legitimate rights,” during a weekly press conference, while President Donald Trump considered the Iranian response “totally unacceptable”. Tehran specifically claims “the end of the war in the region”, the lifting of the American blockade on Iranian ports, and “the liberation of assets belonging to the Iranian people, unjustly frozen for years,” he enumerated. “Any interference in the Strait of Hormuz would only further complicate the situation,” added Esmaël Baghaï, emphasizing to European countries that potential involvement in this crisis would certainly not benefit them.

The UK and France are trying to establish an international coalition to secure this strategic oil shipping lane after resolving the conflict. The Defense Ministers of these two countries will co-chair a video conference meeting on Tuesday with around forty of their counterparts from countries willing to contribute to such a mission, as announced by London.

Moreover, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman denied on Monday the allegations of possible leaks from Iranian oil facilities in the Gulf due to saturated storage capacity. They are “fabricated entirely,” he said, adding that Tehran is generally “very concerned about environmental damage in the area.”

Some media outlets, including American channel Fox News, have suggested that Iran’s capacities could be under pressure, with the American naval blockade disrupting the country’s ability to export or store crude oil. In recent days, satellite images appeared to show an oil slick, the cause of which is unknown, off the Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil terminal, through which 90% of the Islamic Republic’s crude oil normally passes.