Iran Suspends Talks With US Following Hezbollah Commander’s Martyrdom: Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf
TEHRAN: Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator in talks with the United States Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said that talks with the US have been suspended since the killing of a top negotiator from the Hezbollah movement by an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut.
Iranian media reported that Qalibaf had called on an immediate halt to all “discussions” following the latest Hezbollah strike, which killed its intelligence chief and members of his family in the Dahiyeh district of southern Beirut.
He said Iran had said that they would provide a proportionate response that night, and warned that any action by the Zionist regime would lead to a regional retaliation.
The Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – a dispute.
The Iranian chief negotiator, however, said the naval blockade had been lifted that night, not 30 days after the agreement. He noted that U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that the blockade was to be removed immediately, but then added a proviso that Iran would open the Strait of Hormuz at the same time.
As soon as I saw this, I stopped it and said, “We don’t have any agreement like this,”” Qalibaf said. He also said he briefed intermediaries on the fact that, if the tweet did not get removed right away, Iran would retaliate “with the same strength as it has already threatened. The second part of the tweet was deleted 58 minutes later and a statement was made that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened on Saturday, in accordance with the agreement.
“Such talks are just a continuation of the struggle,” said Qalibaf. Iran’s naval blockades were reportedly resumed a few days later and continue to this day.
In recent times, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that the Strait of Hormuz is going to become part of the U.S. territory. The Iranian officials have strongly criticized these remarks and the Deputy Foreign Minister has stated that “the Strait of Hormuz has always been Iranian, remains Iranian, and will forever remain Iranian,” meaning that it will be closed or opened at Iran’s command.