Iran threatens to keep Strait of Hormuz closed unless US meets its terms

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament and the country's chief negotiator with the United States, said Iran will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed unless Washington accepts Tehran's conditions for ending the war. He also weighed in on a domestic debate over whether Iran should pursue military action, diplomacy, or both.

Speaking at the opening session of parliament Sunday (local time), Qalibaf said: "As long as the conditions we have set are not met, the legitimate rights of the Iranian nation are not recognized, and the United States does not fulfill its obligations, there will be no room to return to negotiations or to reopen the Strait of Hormuz."

He went on to say that Iran's diplomatic position was "absolutely clear, rational and non-negotiable," adding that Tehran had conveyed its demands "transparently and firmly" to the other side through mediating countries.

Iran has maintained its conditions for ending the war: a ceasefire on all fronts including Lebanon, the release of frozen assets, the lifting of oil export sanctions, recognition of Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz, and an end to the maritime blockade.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary-general of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Saturday in an interview with Al Jazeera that Iran had relayed similar conditions to the US through mediators — including a ceasefire on all fronts, the release of frozen assets and an end to the maritime blockade — as prerequisites for resuming negotiations aimed at ending the war.

Qalibaf also addressed the competing factions within Iran over how to handle negotiations with the United States.

He said there were elites who "call for war yet have no tactical vision or mechanism to end it decisively and on their own terms, fail to calculate the country's actual capabilities, and reject all forms of engagement and diplomatic outreach — ultimately dragging the nation into a war of attrition and an endless conflict."

He criticized the opposite camp as well, saying some had "fallen into the error of underestimating the country's defensive capabilities, stoking security anxieties, and calling for submission to the enemy's unilateral conditions."

His remarks amounted to a rebuke of both the hardliners who reject any negotiations in favor of military force and those who advocate diplomacy with Washington alone.

Qalibaf said both approaches were misguided. "These biased positions only serve the enemy's strategic goal of breaking our unity and cohesion," he said. "The binary framework of 'war or negotiations' does not reflect reality — military operations and diplomacy must proceed in parallel."

He went on to say that Iran must "fight with reason and overwhelming force, seize a decisive advantage on the ground, and then — at the right moment when the enemy has been weakened — lock in irreversible gains through diplomatic means, grounded in a position of strength and rationality."