Iranian speaker: Tehran to keep Hormuz closed until demands are met

Iran will not return to the previous format of negotiations or reopen the Strait of Hormuz until Tehran’s conditions are met and the United States fulfills its commitments, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated.

“Until these conditions are met, the legitimate rights of the Iranian nation are recognised, and U.S. commitments are implemented, there will be no opening for a return to the previous conditions of negotiation and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Ghalibaf said during a parliamentary session on September 20.

According to Ghalibaf, Iran’s position on the diplomatic front is “completely clear, rational and non-negotiable.”

He said messages had been conveyed to the other side through intermediaries and Tehran’s conditions had been explained, adding that the United States therefore knows that the path of “deception and one-sided imposition” is closed.

The parliament speaker added that Iran does not view war and negotiations as mutually exclusive options.

According to him, Iran must conduct military operations and negotiations simultaneously — confronting its adversary “reasonably and powerfully,” then using diplomatic means to consolidate the results achieved on the battlefield.

Ghalibaf stressed that after achieving significant military gains and weakening its adversary, Iran should use diplomacy to consolidate its position and strengthen its own deterrence capabilities.

The remarks came ahead of the anniversary of the start of the Iran-Iraq War and during Iran’s observance of Sacred Defense Week.

Ghalibaf compared the current situation with Iran’s experience during the 1980–1988 war, arguing that the Iranian people’s resistance should ensure not only the country’s security but also strengthen its position in the economic and strategic spheres.

He also linked the start of the new academic year to national security issues, describing schools as the “new trench of Sacred Defence” and one of the elements of national deterrence.

Ghalibaf further declared that the “old American order” in West Asia had collapsed, arguing that countries in the region should establish a new regional order.

By Jeyhun Aghazada