Former Iranian President Mohammad Mokhber, a member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, said Iran would redefine the governance of the Strait of Hormuz after the war, shifting from being a sanctioned state to one that imposes sanctions on the West, state-controlled Mehr reported on March 19.

"After the end of this imposed war, by defining a new regime for the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will be elevated from the position of being sanctioned to a powerful position in the region and the world," Mokhber said at a meeting with industrialists and entrepreneurs.

"Using the strategic position of the Strait of Hormuz, we can sanction them and not allow their ships to pass through this waterway."

The remarks represent some of the most explicit language yet from a senior Iranian figure on Tehran's long-term intentions for the strait, through which roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil normally flows. The waterway has been largely closed since the war began on February 28.

Mokhber, who served as acting president after the death of Ebrahim Raisi in 2024, said if Iran handled the war and its aftermath correctly, the country would be "insured for decades" against future aggression.

"A country that has engaged with superpowers and they have failed to achieve any of their objectives will not easily be targeted again," he said.

At the same meeting, heads of major Iranian conglomerates, including Golestan, Mihan, Razi, Shirin Novin, Entekhab and Jam Petrochemical, pledged to maintain production and said output would not stop "even for one day."

Mokhber acknowledged public grievances but said the market had no shortages. He called on government agencies to shift from peacetime operations to a wartime footing and remove bureaucratic obstacles for producers.