Tehran [Iran], May 17 (ANI): Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasised that the country is the heir to a civilisation spanning thousands of years, pushing back against the United States attempts to force the nation into submission.

In a post on X, he highlighted the Sarv-e Abarkuh cypress tree, which stands in absolute silence in the heart of Yazd province. Its gnarled, colossal branches have weathered the rise and fall of the Elamites, the Achaemenids, the Parthians, and the Safavids. For over 4,500 years, this ancient cypress has drawn life from the Iranian soil.

In a post on X on Saturday, Pezeshkian said, 'Asia's oldest living organism, the ancient Abarkuh cypress tree - at least 4500 years old - is rooted in land that was already known as Iran at the time.'

https://x.com/drpezeshkian/status/2055650195640324479

This comes amid heightened tensions with the US, as warships crowd the narrow, volatile waters of the Strait of Hormuz and the drumbeats of war between Washington and Tehran grow deafening, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian chose the shadow of Asia's oldest living organism to deliver a message to the world.

Standing before the towering tree, Pezeshkian did not present the posture of a leader cornered by modern sanctions or threatened by Western military might. Instead, he framed the current geopolitical crisis through the lens of deep, inescapable time.

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the Iranian President shared this message alongside an image of the ancient Cyprus tree with the intention to remind people and countries 'ignorant of Persian civilisations dating back thousands of years.'

The Cypress of Abarkuh, also known as the Zoroastrian Sarv, is a historic Persian cypress tree located in Abarkuh in Iran's Yazd Province. The tree is believed to be at least 4,500 years old and is regarded as one of the oldest living organisms in Asia.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee Ebrahim Azizi said that Iran has prepared a 'professional mechanism' to regulate maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz through a designated route, which will be unveiled soon.

In a post on X, Azizi said the proposed mechanism has been developed within the framework of Iran's national sovereignty and with the aim of ensuring the security of international trade.

'Iran, within the framework of its national sovereignty and the guarantee of international trade security, has prepared a professional mechanism to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz along a designated route, which will be unveiled soon. In this process, only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran will benefit from it. The necessary fees will be collected for the specialised services provided under this mechanism. This route will remain closed to the operators of the so-called 'freedom project',' said the 'X' post from Azizi.

This development came amidst the ongoing tensions within West Asia due to the US-Iran conflict.

Earlier on Friday (local time), US President Donald Trump had said that the United States and China have agreed that 'Iran can't have nuclear weapons,' and that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One following his departure from China, President Trump asserted that the US controls the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasising Iran has been hit with 500 million dollars of loss per day in the past two and a half weeks due to the US's naval blockade in the region.

'I have a lot of respect for him. On Iran, he feels strongly that they can't have a nuclear weapon--said that very strongly, they can't have a nuclear weapon--and he wants them to open up the strait. But as he said, they close it, and you close them. And it's true, we (US) control the strait, and they (Iran) have done no business in the last two and a half weeks, which is approximately 500 million dollars a day,' said President Trump.

US President Donald Trump had warned of 'very bad time' if any peace deal to end the West Asia crisis is not reached, Al Jazeera reported, while quoting local French broadcaster BFMTV. (ANI)