ASHGABAT, March 16. /TASS/. Safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz will only be possible when the US and Israeli forces are withdrawn from the Middle East, Iranian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Ali Mojtaba Rouzbahani said.

"The Strait of Hormuz has not been closed and if the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel - TASS) want stability, they must withdraw their aggressive forces from this region. As long as their aggressive armed forces remain there, this region will not be safe. <…> It is not about the Strait of Hormuz only. These aggressors have their facilities in this region. <…> It is not about the Strait of Hormuz facilities alone, it is about their facilities across the entire region. and this issue should be resolved," he replied to a TASS question at a briefing at the Iranian embassy in Ashgabat.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump demanded that NATO countries assist Washington in unblocking the Strait of Hormuz. Otherwise, "it will be very bad for the future of NATO," he warned in an interview with The Financial Times. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that the community was looking at sending warships to the Strait of Hormuz, which requires amending the mandate of the European Aspides naval mission in the Red Sea.

Commenting on Trump’s initiative, the Iranian ambassador repeated that if the US leader wants stability in the strait, he must pull US forces out. "I have a proposal to Trump - if he wants stability and free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, he must take measures to remove his forces from the strait. The Strait of Hormuz is not closed at the moment. But it happened so as a result of this aggression that no ships can pass through the strait," Rouzbahani said, adding that Iran will safeguard stability and security in the strait.

A spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces’ Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned on March 11 that Iran would not allow any oil cargo related to the United States or its allies to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. On March 15, he pledged that Tehran would resort to any means necessary, including controlling shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, to force the enemy to surrender.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.