Iran will not take steps to hamper free navigation in the Persian Gulf, the country's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Apr.29, according to TASS.
"The Persian Gulf is our lifeline ... We will respect international navigation," Zarif said speaking at New York University.
The minister said that "freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf is a must" for the Islamic Republic.
On April 28, Iran detained in the Strait of Hormuz the Marshall Islands-flagged Maersk Tigris container ship belonging to the Danish shipping company Maersk.
Zarif said the ship's seizure had "nothing to do with politics" and was strictly a legal case.