Falsehood will not help the US achieve its goals in negotiations, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said
US President Donald Trump made seven claims in one hour after Tehran announced the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and all of them are untrue, Iranian parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared the waterway, which handles around 25% of the global crude oil trade, “completely open” for commercial vessels for the remainder of the ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The announcement sent oil prices down by about 10%.
On Saturday, however, Tehran reversed the decision, saying the Strait of Hormuz has “returned to its previous state” and is once again under the “strict management and control” of its military.
Iranian officials said the renewed closure was driven by Washington’s refusal to lift the blockade of Iran’s ports, which the US imposed on Monday after the first round of talks with Tehran in Pakistan failed over the weekend. They accused the US of “piracy and maritime theft.”
On Friday, in a barrage of posts on Truth Social responding to Iran’s initial announcement of the temporary reopening of the waterway, Trump said the naval blockade would “remain in full force and effect” until the sides reach a peace deal.
He added that Iran “has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again,” that the opening of the waterway “is not tied, in any way, to Lebanon,” and that most of the points of a final peace agreement have already been negotiated between the sides.
Ghalibaf responded to Trump in a post on X later on Friday, saying the US president “made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.”
The Americans “did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either,” he said.
According to the parliament speaker, control of the Strait of Hormuz “will be determined on the ground field, not on social media.”
“Media warfare and engineering public opinion are an important part of war, and the Iranian nation is not affected by these tricks,” Ghalibaf said.
Iran has not yet agreed to hold another round of negotiations with the US, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday. According to its sources, Tehran is hesitant to resume dialogue due to the continuation of the American naval blockade and Washington’s excessive demands during the talks.
