Iran watchful of ‘enemy’s mistake’ amid diplomatic efforts: Qalibaf
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iran’s Armed Forces are ready to respond to any mistake by the enemy even while diplomatic efforts are underway to end the aggression against Iran by the US and Israel.
The top lawmaker, who is leading Iranian delegation in negotiations with the US in Pakistan, stressed that Tehran has no trust in its adversaries, warning that Iran’s response will be swift to any act of aggression.
In a televised address to the nation on Saturday, he dismissed any suggestion that ongoing negotiations might lead to complacency regarding the national defense.
"It is not the case that we think just because we are negotiating, the Armed Forces are not ready," he said. "Rather, just as the people are in the streets, our armed forces are also ready."
He also said Iran successfully pushed back the enemy despite its superior financial and material resources by applying the asymmetric warfare strategy.
"The enemy had money and resources, but they did not act correctly in terms of design," Qalibaf stated. "They make strategic errors. They miscalculate regarding our people, just as they miscalculate in their own military design."
Strait of Hormuz
Qalibaf also referred to the Strait of Hormuz which has been closed by Iran in response to the US-Israeli aggression, saying that he personally warned a US delegation in Pakistan against escalation in the strategic waterway.
Qalibaf said he warned the US delegation that Iranian forces would open fire at US minesweepers if they moved "an inch" from their position in the strait.
The top Iranian lawmaker also laid out a detailed account of the confrontation between the Iranian naval forces and the US military in the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that the Islamic Republic has full control over the vital waterway and has already pushed the US into a retreat.
He also dismissed the Trump administration’s recent move of a "naval blockade" imposed on Iran’s ports as "a clumsy decision born of ignorance."
"If the US does not abandon the blockade, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz will certainly be restricted," he said.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said on Saturday that Iran will prevent the conditional and limited opening of the Strait of Hormuz if the US tries to disrupt shipping or impose measures such as the naval blockade.
“Should the enemy attempt to disrupt shipping or impose measures such as a naval blockade, the Islamic Republic of Iran will consider that a violation of the ceasefire and will prevent the conditional and limited opening of the Strait of Hormuz,” the SNSC said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement was issued regarding the state of play in negotiations with the US, mediated by Pakistan, to end the ongoing war, which has temporarily been halted after a ceasefire was announced on April 8.
A first round of talks in Islamabad failed to produce an agreement, with Iranian officials blaming the US side for putting forward excessive demands and shifting its position at the negotiating table.