Tehran, July 16 (IANS) Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said the country’s national security is tied to maintaining “Iranian arrangements” in the administration of the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that Tehran will not allow the “enemy” to impose its will.
In a statement released on Wednesday (Local time), Qalibaf, also the head of Iran’s negotiating team, said that the United States seeks to deal blows to Iran whenever possible to advance its own interests, stressing that Iran should adopt its approaches during war or negotiations based on its national interests and security, realism, and long-term strategy.
He noted that Iran does not welcome war, “but we always must be ready for battle” to safeguard national security and interests.
Qalibaf added that diplomacy and negotiation should be pursued in parallel to ensure national interests, reports Xinhua news agency.
Addressing the recently signed peace memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States, which envisioned a 60-day negotiation period for a final agreement, the speaker said that the MoU is meaningful only when its provisions are honoured and implemented; otherwise, if Iran is not supposed to benefit from the deal, it sees no reason to remain committed to it.
The MoU, signed on June 18 and aimed at ending the war in the region on all fronts, including Lebanon, now hangs in the balance as clashes between Iranian and US forces have erupted over the past few days.
Meanwhile, the US military conducted a new round of strikes against Iran, US Central Command said early on Thursday (Indian time).
“At 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT), U.S. forces launched operations for a second wave of strikes today against Iran,” the command wrote in a post on X. “The strikes are targeting Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.”
–IANS
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