Qalibaf: Threat of war against Iran, region must be eliminated

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says threat of war against Iran and the region must be eliminated, stressing that Tehran will no longer accept the cycle of war, ceasefire, negotiation, and war again.

In a televised interview broadcast on Tuesday, Qalibaf said, “We are not seeking war, but we will defend ourselves fiercely and respond firmly,” amid a US-Israeli aggression against the country which started on February 28.

Qalibaf added that the US had expected victory within 72 hours, but instead has seen all its regional bases come under Iranian retaliatory operations, noting that “[US President Donald] Trump now resorts to telling several lies a day out of desperation.”

He stated that Iran had long warned its neighbors that the US military presence would not bring them security, something now evident to them.

He predicted that Islamic countries in the region would establish an indigenous system of economic and security stability through bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Recalling the earlier 12-day war, Qalibaf said Iran accepted that ceasefire only after persistent requests and its final strikes on Israel, but added, “They have now shown that they learned no lessons.”

Situation in Strait of Hormuz will never return to past conditions

Addressing recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz, the Speaker said its current closure was not Iran’s decision but a defensive necessity.

“We never intended to target neighboring states,” he said, “but when missiles are launched toward us, it is our right to respond. Many ships no longer move because the conditions do not permit it.”

He noted that legal and navigational arrangements in the strait would no longer return to past conditions since “its previous security no longer exists.”

Qalibaf asserted that Israel had once vowed to reshape the order of West Asia through war. “Indeed, the region’s face and order are changing,” he said, “but not under America’s dominance.”

Instead, he described a new regional security model based on indigenous cooperation among neighboring Islamic nations.

He also warned that US and Israeli policies had destabilized not only West Asia but “the security of East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and even America itself.”

Highlighting the geopolitical importance of the Strait of Hormuz, Qalibaf called it “one of the world’s key points,” vital for the transfer of oil and energy.

He underlined that there was a “strategic miscalculation” in US involvement, saying Israel had set a trap for Washington, which “fell into it due to immaturity.”

He further said that the United States and Israel sought to monopolize the region’s resources, but “Iran and the regional countries — with God’s grace — will show that these resources and opportunities belong to the people and nations of this region.”

Qalibaf affirmed, “We will cut off the hands of their greed; this action will definitely take place in the region.”