ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iranian parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday said Tehran understands that the Strait of Hormuz must be open but it is safeguarding it from US interference, after US President Donald Trump accused Iran of “blackmailing” the world by restricting access.

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a brief post on X that the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” to all commercial ships in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon.

The US however maintained its blockade on Iranian ports, leading to Tehran closing the strait once again on Saturday.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a strait that the world's people and nations must use — we understand this. We are not like America, devouring and taking whatever we want,” Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, said.

“We will not allow Americans to say 'we have interests in the Strait of Hormuz' and seek to interfere in it. We safeguard the rights of the world's nations according to our own protocols,” Ghalibaf added.

Since the US-Israel war with Iran started in late February, Iran has closed the key waterway, responsible for roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil shipments, as a means in its war against the US and Israel, sharply driving up global oil prices.

Iran has vowed to keep the strait closed until the US blockade on its ports is lifted.

The strait was initially set to remain open for the remaining period of the ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which is set to expire on April 26.

On Saturday, Trump said Iran was getting “a little cute” with the recent move, warning Tehran not to “blackmail” the US using the strait.

“We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world, because that’s what they’re doing… We’re not going to let that happen,” said the US president on Monday.

A two-week ceasefire was reached by Washington and Tehran on April 7, which is set to expire on Wednesday.

The two sides held a 21 hour session of negotiations in Islamabad last week aimed at ending the hostilities. The talks ended with no deal.

“We have very good conversations going on,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday, while Iranian officials continue expressing their distrust of the US.

No date has been announced for further talks between the two sides.