Ghalibaf: No Hormuz Opening Until Conditions Met
TEHRAN -- Iran’s parliament speaker said on Wednesday that Washington must implement Tehran’s seven conditions before any further negotiations can proceed or the Strait of Hormuz can reopen, warning that a new U.S. attack would expose President Donald Trump to impeachment at home.
Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf told Al-Jazeera that Iran has delivered its final, clear response to the American side.
“The ball is in America’s court; it must decide and announce its decision,” he said. He said Qatar and Pakistan are acting as mediators, with Russia, China and other regional states also involved, but that Washington has yet to respond formally.
“The Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until those seven conditions are implemented,” Ghalibaf said. He described the conditions as minimal: lifting the naval blockade, which he called “a harsh war under international law,” removing sanctions, withdrawing U.S. forces deployed to the region after the war, and ending interference in the waterway. “Are these extra demands?” he asked.
Ghalibaf said there have been no change to Iran’s negotiating team. “I still hold responsibility for the negotiations,” he said, dismissing foreign media reports as “mischief.” He said decisions on major issues are taken by the Supreme National Security Council and approved by the Supreme Leader.
He warned Trump against a new war. “If he decides on war again, he will certainly face a defeat in war — like the political defeat in the elections — that will lead to his impeachment in Congress,” Ghalibaf said. He said Iran is “fully prepared for war,” adding: “Whoever can negotiate well must be better prepared to fight.”
Ghalibaf said Iran will not remain in a “neither war nor peace” situation. “We are determined to move past it” through sustainable deterrence, he said, citing military advances — including the downing of more than 200 enemy drones in the 40-day war and damage to an F-35 — as evidence that Iran’s deterrent power has grown. He said U.S. aircraft carriers had withdrawn from the operational area.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Ghalibaf said it is governed by the two coastal states, Iran and Oman, under a bilateral understanding, and that the 1982 convention does not apply. “What business does America have, 12,000 kilometers away, controlling the strait?”
He defended Iran’s insistence on including Lebanon in any deal, calling Hezbollah and Iran “one front and one body,” and said Trump has signed up to a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
On Yemen, he said Ansarullah is “an independent government” facing Saudi “maximalism,” and that Iran would help mediate if asked but opposes interference in Yemen’s internal affairs.
“The Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until those seven conditions are implemented,” Ghalibaf said. He described the conditions as minimal: lifting the naval blockade, which he called “a harsh war under international law,” removing sanctions, withdrawing U.S. forces deployed to the region after the war, and ending interference in the waterway. “Are these extra demands?” he asked.
Ghalibaf said there have been no change to Iran’s negotiating team. “I still hold responsibility for the negotiations,” he said, dismissing foreign media reports as “mischief.” He said decisions on major issues are taken by the Supreme National Security Council and approved by the Supreme Leader.
He warned Trump against a new war. “If he decides on war again, he will certainly face a defeat in war — like the political defeat in the elections — that will lead to his impeachment in Congress,” Ghalibaf said. He said Iran is “fully prepared for war,” adding: “Whoever can negotiate well must be better prepared to fight.”
Ghalibaf said Iran will not remain in a “neither war nor peace” situation. “We are determined to move past it” through sustainable deterrence, he said, citing military advances — including the downing of more than 200 enemy drones in the 40-day war and damage to an F-35 — as evidence that Iran’s deterrent power has grown. He said U.S. aircraft carriers had withdrawn from the operational area.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Ghalibaf said it is governed by the two coastal states, Iran and Oman, under a bilateral understanding, and that the 1982 convention does not apply. “What business does America have, 12,000 kilometers away, controlling the strait?”
He defended Iran’s insistence on including Lebanon in any deal, calling Hezbollah and Iran “one front and one body,” and said Trump has signed up to a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
On Yemen, he said Ansarullah is “an independent government” facing Saudi “maximalism,” and that Iran would help mediate if asked but opposes interference in Yemen’s internal affairs.