US President Donald Trump posted a photo of the Strait of Hormuz accompanied by the phrase “New American Land” on his social platform, Truth Social.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, responded to Trump’s post by saying: “We will soon correct Trump’s delusions... Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the permanent Persian Gulf, his delusions regarding the Strait of Hormuz will soon be corrected, or we will correct the delusions of this delusional.”
Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in statements published by official media on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States adheres to the terms of the interim agreement with Iran, including lifting the naval blockade and sanctions, as well as releasing frozen Iranian assets.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters, on Monday, that his country had decided to shift its policy from defense to “fully offensive” due to faltering efforts to reach a permanent agreement to end the war with the United States, while Washington ruled out extending the temporary ceasefire agreement.
Progress has stalled in talks to stop the war and resume the movement of oil tankers through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to prolong the conflict that the United States and Israel began by attacking Iran on February 28.
The Iranian official said: “Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the region as a whole, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and move forward with taking action on difficult decisions.”
He added that Tehran would carry out a military attack “in a timely and precise manner” to break the US naval blockade imposed on the Islamic Republic if diplomatic efforts fail.
Monday was the deadline by which Iran and the United States were supposed to reach a final agreement, according to a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 aimed at ending the war.
The memorandum of understanding set a deadline of 60 days in order to reach an agreement covering broader issues such as the fate of the Iranian nuclear program and the US sanctions imposed on Tehran.
But the memorandum of understanding, which declared an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, quickly collapsed due to a dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
In response to a question posed by reporters on Monday whether the United States was seeking to extend the temporary agreement reached in June, US President Donald Trump said: “No.”
Media reports stated that Trump opened back channels of communication with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, whose power increased during the war and now controls large sectors of the armed forces and economy in Iran.
Axios reported, citing two informed sources, that former US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard spoke with an Iraqi Kurdish leader who has close ties to the Revolutionary Guards, and that the United States conveyed, through this intermediary, a message to the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, General Ahmed Wahidi.
Fox News later reported that Trump confirmed the report in a phone interview.
Axios said that the Trump administration was concerned about whether Iranian negotiators on the other side of the negotiating table were speaking on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard, while Reuters reported that Vahidi had become a central figure. The website added that Vahidi responded that his positions were consistent with the Iranian negotiators.
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and special envoy, said in a separate interview with Fox News on Monday: "I can't go into details, but I can say that the conversations between the US government and various departments of the Iranian government at all levels are probably broader than they have ever been before."
On Monday evening, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi directed an investigation into a drone attack on the Kurdistan region that Iran considered “suspicious,” while the Kurdish authorities accused Tehran of being behind it.
The office of the Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, and the residence of the Director of Local Intelligence in Erbil were attacked on Sunday night by two drones, according to what the local authorities said.
For his part, Barzani said in a post on the X platform: “Today, my personal office and the residence of the head of the Parastan Agency were subjected to Iranian attacks with drones.”
He considered that "these reckless and unacceptable attacks constitute a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the region."
Later on Monday, Al-Zaidi directed “to form an investigative committee to uncover the sources and origins of the attack (...) and to announce the results of the investigation to public opinion as soon as possible, and to reveal all the circumstances of the attack and the parties behind it.”
In parallel, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry reported in a statement that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein that “he has no information indicating that the attacks were launched from Iranian territory” and that “there is no justification for such actions.”
