Ghalibaf: The Strait of Hormuz will not be opened except on Iran’s conditions, and Washington has presented proposals through an intermediary

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened unless Iran’s seven conditions are met “on the basis of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” revealing that the United States recently put forward proposals through the mediator.

Qalibaf said before Parliament: “The Americans, who say something else in the media, have recently put forward proposals through the mediator,” without revealing their details, addressing the American side that “the time of wasting time and dictating unilateral demands has ended.”

Qalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation to the Islamabad talks, continued: “We are neither agitated nor terrified; We fight and negotiate. We will appear with all our might on the battlefield, and we will confront the enemy with new surprises, and we will use diplomacy to establish our superiority in the military field and impose the rights of the Iranian people.”

He said that Iran “is not a country that controls its supreme policy and national security on the tweets of American officials or their daily interviews,” but rather bases its decisions on “the behavior of the actual enemy, not on false rhetoric and binaries in the media.” He did not specify the seven conditions he referred to.

Last week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi received, from Qatari mediators, the American response to the seven-day proposal. An informed official told Reuters that the two sides largely agreed on the steps, but differed on the order in which they would be implemented.

Stronger response

Araqchi warned, during his meeting with ambassadors and heads of foreign missions in Tehran on Sunday, that Iran’s opponents “if they again take the path of military confrontation, they will receive a stronger response than before, and we will defend ourselves with greater force.” He added: “And if they seek diplomatic means, we are still ready to reach, through diplomacy, a just and honorable solution to end this war.”

He expressed his hope that Washington would choose “the path of wisdom and rationality,” saying that the United States “has lost in the past in war and in diplomacy,” and that the new sanctions “will not benefit it at all,” and that “there is no military solution, and no solution based on more sanctions.”

He explained that he met with 42 foreign ministers in New York, while President Masoud Pezeshkian met with about ten heads of state, noting that Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait “are all consistent with pledges that America must accept.”

Araqchi responded to what was published by American media about the expulsion of the Iranian delegation from New York, saying that the delegation went and returned “according to its pre-determined program.” He believed that this allegation, “regardless of how true it is,” means that Washington acknowledges that it has violated its obligations as a host country for the United Nations, adding: “Just as the host of the Olympic Games expels another team’s athletes from the country when its team loses.” “This behavior is both childish and ridiculous.”

He described the delegation's meetings with neighboring countries as "influential, respectful and friendly," saying that "a new path to building confidence" had begun with them. He called on European countries to “review their approach” towards Iran, citing the NATO Secretary-General’s acknowledgment that more than five thousand American fighters took off from bases in Europe to attack Iran.

In addition, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei stated that the American proposal is similar to previous proposals and focuses on the nuclear file, while Tehran wants to focus on the Strait of Hormuz.

Baghaei said that Tehran clarified its positions through mediators regarding the American response to its plan, noting that there are additional points that still need to be communicated to the American side, while the issue of the return of IAEA inspectors to Iran was not discussed.

Expulsion of Iranian diplomats

In Washington, an American official told Axios that two members of the Iranian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly were “expelled” from the United States, on Saturday, after they did not comply with the State Department’s request, last Monday, for the entire delegation to leave. He said: “Secretary Rubio is serious. Two other members of the Iranian delegation were found still in New York long after the General Assembly had ended. They have now been expelled from the country.”

According to the official, the Iranian mission was informed on Friday that Washington knew that the two diplomats were staying, and was again asked to deport them immediately. One of them left on Friday evening and the other on Saturday morning.

“Easy or hard”

US President Donald Trump told reporters, on Saturday, before heading to Ohio: “We have a decision that I will make regarding Iran. Iran has been destroyed. So the only question is whether it will be the easy way or the hard way.”

He added: “Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon. “Iran, as you know, has practically abandoned any plans for a nuclear weapon.”

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters in Colorado Springs on Saturday that the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz is “tight,” and that Trump will have “all the options he needs” if Iran continues to “manipulate” the Strait.

“Iran wants to manipulate things like the Strait of Hormuz,” Hegseth said. They don't control it, we control it. They literally couldn't pass anything. Our blockade was tight, and we were operating at pre-war levels of convergence every night across the strait, and this is what you see in the volume of crossings.”

He continued: “We feel that we are in a very strong position.” Iran must make the right decision. If you don't, the president will have all the options he needs. But he will not allow these matters to drag on unnecessarily. “He knows what the job is, and we can get it done when we are asked to do so.”

He said that the message “is very simple: Iran will never, never, ever possess a nuclear weapon.” “President Trump is determined to ensure that you don’t have it, and you won’t have it.” He warned that “if they think he does not mean what he says, it will be at their expense,” giving Tehran a choice between abandoning this “as it should, without any pressure cards it has,” or for it to happen “the hard way.”

The blockade stopped Iranian oil

White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung wrote on the “X” platform: “Do not believe the skeptics. The process of economic isolation crushes Iran’s “leaders,” while America wins,” adding: “Iranian oil stopped completely thanks to the successful American blockade.” “Inflation is crippling Iran’s economy.”

He cited a Bloomberg report stating that inflation in Iran is approaching 90 percent, and that oil shipments through Hormuz are recovering toward pre-war levels despite the continuation of Iranian attacks.

These positions coincide with American military reinforcements in the region. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the Department of Defense is sending a third aircraft carrier and ships carrying Marines to the Middle East, adding between 9 and 10 thousand soldiers. Axios reported that in recent weeks, Washington transferred two additional Patriot batteries to the region, to enhance the protection of oil and gas facilities in the Gulf in anticipation of the resumption of military operations.