US puts regional allies at risk ‘for the sake of Israel’: Speaker
International Desk
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Saturday that Tehran has received “numerous messages” from neighboring countries about shaping new security arrangements and expanding economic cooperation in the region.
“The United States put the security of every single one of its allies at such risk through bullying and pure disregard for their interests for the sake of Israel that they briefly saw their entire existence on the line,” Qalibaf said in a post on X.
“A homegrown, independent order is what will actually deliver peace and security,” he added.
The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on February 28, sparking conflict across the Middle East region. Iran responded by attacking Israel and US military bases in the Persian Gulf Arab countries, and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas travels. The move sent oil prices soaring globally.
Regional diplomatic efforts led to a peace agreement between Iran and the US. The two sides signed the memorandum of understanding in Pakistan to end the cycle arising from the latest bout of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against Iran.
Under the understanding, Iran agreed to allow fee-free maritime transit through the strait for a period of 60 days.
In compliance with the MoU, the Islamic Republic devised a special maritime route for vessels to cross the chokepoint, warning vessels against using illegal routes.
The US has, however, been trying to escort transit through the strait along an illegal passageway, prompting the Islamic Republic to confront every instance of Washington-instigated transit through the chokepoint and shut the corridor until Washington ended its interference in regional maritime movement.
Tehran says any movement in the strategic chokepoint must be conducted under Iranian arrangements, as per the understanding.
The closure of the strait has affected the economies of the Persian Gulf Arab countries which heavily rely on the waterway to export their crude oil and gas.
Iranian parliament speaker, who was on a three-day visit to neighboring Iraq, also pointed to the economic problems caused by the aggression for the Iranian people and the region.
Addressing a group of Iranian and Iraqi businessmen on Thursday, Qalibaf said the US and Israel had concluded they could not defeat Iran and Iraq through direct military confrontation and had therefore shifted towards cognitive and economic warfare.
“The economy needs a foundation of security to take off, and if security is not established, capital will not come, so investment necessarily requires security,” he said.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced what he called the “most crushing economic operation” against Iran, claiming that Tehran would face “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale”. He also threatened sanctions against any country that does business with Iran.