Ghalibaf: The Strait of Hormuz is closed until the seven Iranian conditions are met and criticizes the American contradiction

On Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf reiterated his country’s position that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the seven conditions set by Iran are met, criticizing what he described as the “contradiction” in American rhetoric between the military threat and the declaration of a desire to negotiate.

Qalibak said that these conditions are based on the memorandum of understanding signed in Islamabad between Iran and the United States, noting that “Iran will not mortgage its national security to statements or tweets issued by American officials,” as quoted by the official Iranian “IRNA” news agency.

Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf said, “The proposals presented by Washington through mediators will not change the stability of the Iranian position, as the time for imposing unilateral dictates and demands has ended,” according to what the IRNA agency quoted him as saying.

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and head of its negotiating delegation claimed that "the United States faces a state of helplessness in the face of the steadfastness of the Iranian people."

Qalibaf stated that what he described as the "contradiction" in the American rhetoric, which ranges between the military threat and the claim of a desire to negotiate, "is nothing but an attempt to mislead public opinion and create confusion in the Iranian decision-making process."

Qalibaf concluded by saying: “Based on the directives of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, we will not allow the enemies to achieve any of their illusions towards Iran,” according to “IRNA.”

Among Tehran's conditions for opening the vital strait: ending the war on all fronts, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and ending the naval blockade on Iran.

Last Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced that he expected talks to continue with Iran, after rejecting the latest Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said in an interview with Axios: "I expect more talks with Iran (this week). They want to make a deal, but it's not the deal I want. It's the deal we probably would have agreed to a year ago; they've overplayed their position."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings. This is a meeting that Trump described as “very good.”

After Araqchi stated, on Thursday, that Iran had presented a proposal to the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume negotiations to reach a “final agreement,” and a White House official confirmed, on Friday, that the two sides were holding “positive and constructive discussions through mediators,” Trump returned to reject the Iranian proposal the next day.

Iran has sought to implement a new protocol for crossing the Strait of Hormuz since its effective closure of this vital waterway, following the start of the American-Israeli war against Iran on February 28.