The president of the Parliament and chief negotiator of Iran, Mohamed Baqer Qalibaf, emphasized this Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will not open until the United States fulfills its commitments under the memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June, which has exceeded the deadlines given to reach a final agreement to cease hostilities.
In statements during his visit to Iraq where he will address the regional situation, Qalibaf stressed that “applying logic and force,” and in coordination between diplomatic and military spheres, Iran “is trying to force the delirious America to recognize the rights of the Iranian people.”
“I make it clear that until the United States fulfills its commitments in the memorandum, including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, lifting the oil embargo, ending threats and military operations on all fronts, and other conditions it has committed to in said memorandum, the strait will not open,” said the Iranian leader, in statements collected by the Tasnim agency.
Qalibaf pointed out that, once the 60-day period to negotiate a possible definitive peace agreement with the United States ended, Tehran took “the opportunity” provided by the memorandum of understanding “to increase Iran’s economic resilience and rebuild its defense capabilities.”
In this way, he warned that the Islamic Republic “is ready to inflict a more severe defeat on the enemy than before, in proportion to its actions and aggression.”
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Regarding the situation in the war and the lack of progress in negotiations with Washington, he indicated that Tehran expected that once it had accepted the memorandum of understanding “out of pure desperation,” “it soon failed to fulfill its commitments to compensate for its harsh political defeat.”
These statements come as the 60-day deadline given to the United States and Iran to reach a comprehensive agreement to end the war in the Middle East has ended, which was also supposed to include measures to limit Iran’s nuclear program.
In a new twist, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened this Monday to attack Oman, despite the Omani authorities having been mediators throughout the process and negotiating with Iran the management of the Strait of Hormuz, if Muscat “stands in the way” of his objectives. He suggested to Iran that it must “raise the white flag” and “surrender” to the situation it faces due to the war launched last February, after acknowledging that a negotiated agreement will not be reached.
