TEHRAN - Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi who visited Kuwait on Thursday said Iran’s Hormuz peace initiative is a step in line with reducing tension in the region.

During a meeting with Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah, Araqchi said that the regional countries’ “constructive” approach towards Iran’s initiative will help alleviate tension.

He added that Iran is ready to find mechanisms to implement the peace plan, which is known as the Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE).

The littoral states to the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf have many capacities to help prosperity of the future, he said.

He also noted that Iran attaches great importance to the regional countries’ collective cooperation to maintain security in the region.

The Kuwaiti official highlighted the importance of dialogue and cooperation to maintain peace and security.

At the United Nations summit in New York in late September, Iran officially unveiled the proposal for regional security.

“Based upon the historical responsibility of my country in maintaining security, peace, stability and progress in the Persian Gulf region and Strait of Hormuz, I would like to invite all the countries directly affected by the developments in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the ‘Coalition for Hope’, meaning Hormuz Peace Endeavor,” President Hassan Rouhani told the UN delegates.

During a meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yusef bin Alawi on Tuesday in Tehran, Rouhani said all the regional countries should play an active role in maintaining security in the region and in this line Iran proposed the Hormuz peace initiative.

“We should maintain security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz through expanding cooperation and we should not let foreigners interfere,” the president pointed out.

Foreign Minister Zarif has invited all regional states to join the peace plan for securing the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

In a tweet in September, Zarif said the initiative entails “dialogue, confidence-building, freedom of navigation, energy security, non-aggression, and non-intervention”.

In a post on his Twitter account on October 15, Zarif renewed Iran’s call to all countries bordering the Persian Gulf to join Tehran to “forge a blueprint for peace, security, stability, and prosperity” in the region.

In a press briefing on November 25, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi announced that three countries have accepted to join Iran’s Hormuz peace plan.

“Three countries have given written response to Iran’s invitation and other countries are studying it,” he said.

He also called on certain Persian Gulf Arab states to abandon reliance on foreign forces for their security, saying dependence on foreigners is just an “illusion” 

“We called on the countries to respond to Iran’s peace-seeking call and abandon illusions. We have stressed that the presence of foreign countries undermines security and stability. We hope this initiative of Iran would face with a positive response,” Mousavi stated.

NA/PA