Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister tells ITV News 'the Strait of Hormuz is open'

Dr Saeed Khatibzadeh told ITV News Iran was committed to peace in the Middle East but was sceptical of the "other side"

The Strait of Hormuz is open, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister told me this morning.

Any civilian vessel can pass with guidance from the Iranian authorities.

That guidance is necessary because, as part of this war, Iran mined the crucial waterway, and those mines remain, he said.

The Iranians have the maps and locations for safe passage.

Why does this matter? Because Iran’s control of the Strait during this war has caused a global energy and economic crisis.

The passage of vessels is in part what has pushed the United States to the negotiating table.

However, the Strait being open is Iran’s greatest power and key to any ceasefire. If the Americans and Israelis don't agree to Iran's key demands, the Strait can be closed again.

And passage is only with Iran's agreement, however open it might be.

"Anybody who communicates with the Iranian authority has got permission to pass," Dr Saeed Khatibzadeh told me.

Central to Iran’s demands is a ceasefire in Lebanon, too. Yesterday’s wave of attacks by Israel, resulting in the deaths of almost 200 people, has pushed this 14-day pause to its limit.

Dr Khatibzadeh said: "I have all the reasons to be sceptical regarding the intention of the other side, but more than that, as we are seeing, Israelis are violating, the grave violation is happening right now in Lebanon, yesterday was a massacre."

The deputy foreign minister also had a few words for the UK and how it had managed the conflict.

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

He said the British government should "face the facts", adding the UK permitted American B2 bombers to launch strikes on Iran from RAF bases.

"It is nonsense that in a war, a country says that I'm not part of this war, but I provide all the infrastructure for you to start an offensive operation against another country," he said.

The UK government has insisted that permitting the US to use British military sites to launch strikes on Iran has only been for defensive operations.

But in the eyes of the Iranians, there is no distinction between defensive and offensive operations.

From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below...