The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until Iran’s conditions for reopening the vital waterway are met, Mostafa Izadi, deputy chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has said.

“The Iranian people are a nation well-versed in warfare,” Izadi said on Thursday, adding that “this important strait is still closed”, The Caspian Post reports, citing Al Jazeera.

“The armed forces stand ready to firmly defend the sovereignty of this Islamic nation,” the senior military official said.

He added that Iran’s armed forces had demonstrated resilience across various domains while making significant progress and revitalizing their capabilities in surface-to-surface missiles, air defense systems and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Tehran remained “in close and ongoing contact” with mediators over proposals to implement its seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.