'Strait of Hormuz gives Iran strategic leverage,' says Iranian official

Tehran: Secretary of the Expediency Council's secretariat in Iran Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei on Sunday underlined that the Strait of Hormuz gives Iran strategic leverage in global affairs.

Speaking at a meeting on governance, legislative, and executive challenges in implementing maritime development policies in Tehran on Sunday, he said the policies were essential to connecting the Constitution's aspirations with the country's broader strategic direction, IRNA reported.

Kadkhodaei said the Constitution could not address every issue arising from changing national circumstances, making overarching policies necessary to guide the country's medium-term course. Iran has 38 policy areas covering various provisions, he added.


Kadkhodaei said the erstwhile supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, had regarded the general policies as the system's framework for coordinating the conduct of its institutions. Maritime development policies had been carefully prepared and reflected a long-term, civilizational vision, he noted.

Despite having seven coastal provinces in the north and south and extensive coastlines, Iran had made limited use of its maritime resources and links to the oceans, he said.

Kadkhodaei argued that recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz had shown the American public the consequences of US policymakers' decisions. He warned that a significant gap remained between policy formulation and implementation, calling for faster action and closer coordination between the Expediency Council and executive bodies.

During the meeting, Mehdi Hashemi, head of the council's Infrastructure Commission, said the effectiveness of maritime policies mattered as much as their stated objectives, urging Iran to make fuller use of its regional and global position.

Earlier, Iran's Armed Forces Spokesman Forces, Brig. General Shekarchi on Sunday claimed that the failure of the Republican party in the recent mid-term polls in the US shows that they have not been able to break Iran's will.

"The political and electoral setbacks suffered by the Trump administration and its allies reflect more than domestic political shifts; they point to a greater reality: the failure of the US to break Iran's will. Washington's doctrines of aggression, assassination and maximum pressure, along with its military strategies, have failed against the deterrent power and unwavering resolve of Iran's leadership, people and armed forces," General Shekarchi told Iranian media.