Iran is Committed to Freedom of Navigation in Persian Gulf

Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday offered assurances that Tehran is committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf in the aftermath of the seizure of a commercial ship by Iranian forces a day earlier.

"The Persian Gulf is our lifeline ... We will respect international navigation," Mohammad Javad Zarif told an audience at New York University. "For us, freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf is a must."

He added that senior foreign ministry officials and deputy foreign ministers from Iran and six powers would resume negotiations on a final nuclear deal on Thursday. He suggested the talks would take place in New York, where he is attending a review conference on the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau)