Iran's IRGC describes Hormuz as a "war zone"
Mohabi stated, “Our current strategy is to maintain control of the strait until the enemy accepts all our demands,” claiming that “the current war is the only one in which the United States has accepted defeat without achieving any gains.”
He added, “We have forced the enemy to shift from the objectives it had set for itself to demanding the opening of Hormuz, a strait that was open before the war.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi publicly insisted that his country would not resume negotiations with the Americans until Washington halted what he described as “its violations of the Islamabad memorandum.”
Reaffirming its hostile stance, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Hamid Reza Babaei stated during an online public session that “any country seeking to assist the United States in launching an attack on Iran will become a target of the Iranian regime’s missiles.”
Amid intensifying internal disputes fueled by worsening living crises resulting from the war, blockade, and sanctions, MP Mohammad Taghi Ali called on Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to resign from the country’s negotiating delegation and from the file concerning coordination with China, in order to “dedicate himself to his primary duty of managing parliamentary affairs.”
He added, “People ask us what the Parliament’s plan is to improve citizens’ livelihoods? Given the Parliament’s current state, we have no answer to this question. With the continuation of this approach, the Parliament’s standing has declined, and MPs are no longer informed about the country’s key and important issues.”
In this context, the website Nayeb reported that while the Supreme National Security Council was reviewing a draft agreement between Iran and the Sultanate of Oman regarding the management of “Hormuz,” Council Secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr proposed a wide range of conditions for reopening the waterway, despite reports of his sudden resignation from his post last Thursday.
The site noted that Zolqadr’s statements do not represent the official position of Iranian negotiators or the final terms of any agreement, but they reveal the political obstacles facing efforts to reopen the strait and reflect the influence of hardline factions within the Iranian system.
On the other side, US Vice President JD Vance clarified that negotiations with Iran are still “midway,” stating that the Hormuz crisis is neither at its beginning nor close to its end, describing the situation as still being “in the middle of the game.”
Regarding the dispute over imposing fees on ship transits, the Trump-era vice president noted that “some factions within the Iranian regime are talking about collecting fees,” but Tehran has informed Washington that it “does not plan to impose fees.”
Vance pointed out that Iran and Gulf states, particularly the Sultanate of Oman, have been discussing for about a week a mechanism to ensure the safe passage of ships. He continued, “The ongoing work includes establishing a navigation system, removing mines planted by Iran at the start of the war, and obtaining a commitment from Tehran not to fire on commercial vessels.”
Amid leaks suggesting that plans for specific land invasion operations against strategic Iranian targets were under discussion at the Pentagon, following Chief of Staff General Dan Kaine’s assessment that the air campaign had reached its maximum impact threshold, the US Department of War has requested defense contractors to significantly accelerate the production and delivery of weapons to compensate for the depletion of ammunition and interceptor missile stocks during the war with Iran.
Officials emphasized that Trump is exercising patience to navigate the current diplomatic crisis, noting that the United States has achieved its military objectives without precluding a return to combat if necessity demands it. The American newspaper quoted officials as saying that Trump had privately floated the idea to his senior aides of his readiness to declare victory and withdraw from military operations against Iran without reaching a nuclear deal, should the Strait of Hormuz be fully reopened.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the outset of a government meeting, stated that “Iran will not attack Israel, because it knows the magnitude of the severe blow it would receive if it were to do so,” adding that Israel rejects the 15-point document published by “Peace Now” in Gaza.
This came as Channel 13, an Israeli broadcaster, reported that Israel is still considering the possibility of launching unilateral attacks on Iran without U.S. involvement.
According to the report, U.S. officials had hoped to announce an agreement between the Iranians and the Omanis before the end of the week, but they are still awaiting a response from Tehran.
