TEHRAN — Iranian Parliament Speaker Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Saturday U.S. President Donald Trump had sought the removal of Iran’s missile program, resistance policies, nuclear issue and position on the Strait of Hormuz during negotiations, but ultimately signed a memorandum that recognized the resistance front in Persian.
“In the 15 articles that Trump sent, he said missiles, resistance, nuclear and the Strait of Hormuz — these four should be kissed goodbye and put aside,” Ghalibaf said at a meeting with cultural figures and elites.
“But Trump signed the recognition of the resistance front in Persian,” he added.
Ghalibaf said the first article of the memorandum included references to Lebanon’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and the resistance front.
“Look at Article One of the memorandum. We brought Lebanon’s sovereignty, Lebanon’s territorial integrity and the resistance front into it,” he said.
The parliament speaker also described Trump’s retreat from linking the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to the agreement, recounting events during negotiations after an Israeli attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Ghalibaf said Iran halted negotiations after the attack, which martyred Hezbollah’s intelligence official along with his family, and warned that any further escalation would lead to a response across the region.
“During the negotiations, when the latest attack by the Zionist regime on the Beirut suburbs happened and the Hezbollah intelligence official was martyred with his family, we stopped the negotiations and announced that we would respond to this action,” he said.
He said that same night — rather than 30 days later — the blockade was lifted, and Trump wrote on social media that Iran would also reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“When I saw this tweet, I stopped it and announced that there was no such agreement,” Ghalibaf said, adding that he told intermediaries the statement had to be removed immediately.
According to Ghalibaf, 58 minutes later Trump removed the part of the post referring to the Strait of Hormuz and instead wrote that the waterway would be reopened within the framework of the memorandum from Saturday.
“This type of negotiation means struggle,” Ghalibaf said.
Ghalibaf also referred to his long involvement with Lebanon, saying he had been engaged with Lebanese affairs since 1985 and had known many of those killed in the conflict personally.
“I knew each one of these young men who were martyred, and I was close friends with them,” he said.
He added that he remained in contact with people on the front lines.
The parliament speaker’s remarks came during a meeting with cultural elites, where he discussed the course of negotiations and Iran’s position on regional issues.