Iran \u2018won war and diplomacy,\u2019 foreign minister says after Trump\u2019s call for Tehran to surrender<\/p>\n
Senior Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf. PHOTO: IRNA on X <\/p>\n
Senior Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen “until the blockade is lifted, frozen assets are released, oil sanctions are removed, military threats and operations on all fronts are ended, and the other terms of the MoU are fully met.”<\/p>\n
.@mb_ghalibaf<\/a> : The Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened until the blockade is lifted, frozen assets are released, oil sanctions are removed, military threats and operations on all fronts are ended, and the other terms of the MoU are fully met. pic.twitter.com\/A0CEa1Zilh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 IRNA News Agency \u262b (@IrnaEnglish) August 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n In statements carried by the\u00a0IRNA\u00a0and ISNA\u00a0news agencies, he added that “Iran is prepared to impose a heavier defeat on the enemy than before, proportionate to the enemy’s actions and aggressions.”<\/p>\n \u0642\u0627\u0644\u06cc\u0628\u0627\u0641: \u062a\u0646\u06af\u0647 \u0647\u0631\u0645\u0632 \u062a\u0627 \u0631\u0641\u0639 \u0645\u062d\u0627\u0635\u0631\u0647 \u0648 \u062a\u062d\u0631\u06cc\u0645 \u0646\u0641\u062a \u0628\u0627\u0632 \u0646\u0645\u06cc\u200c\u0634\u0648\u062f \u2014 \u062e\u0628\u0631\u06af\u0632\u0627\u0631\u06cc \u0627\u06cc\u0633\u0646\u0627 (@isna_farsi) August 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Iran \u2018won war and diplomacy,\u2019 foreign minister says after Trump\u2019s call for Tehran to surrender<\/p>\n Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that Iran had \u201cwon both the war and diplomacy,\u201d claiming those who initially sought Tehran\u2019s \u201cunconditional surrender\u201d later sought negotiations.<\/p>\n Speaking at an event, Araghchi said Iran resisted for days against what he described as \u201cthe world\u2019s largest apparent military,\u201d alongside another army claiming military power and with the support of nearly all Western countries and some other states inside and outside the region, according to the Tasnim news agency.<\/p>\n \u201cThose who were seeking unconditional surrender, shortly after the war began, begged for negotiations,\u201d Araghchi said.<\/p>\n He claimed Tehran initially rejected a ceasefire and continued fighting until reaching a point where the other side accepted a ceasefire and negotiations \u201con Iran\u2019s terms.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe fought with strength, and we negotiated with strength,\u201d he said, adding that many foreign ministers had told him: \u201cYou won both the war and diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n Araghchi\u2019s remarks came after US President Donald Trump called on Iran on Monday to give up and \u201craise the white flag.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran threatens new offensive while US rules out extending ceasefire deal<\/p>\n Iran will shift to a “fully offensive” military \u200bposture because efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war with the U.S. have stalled, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, as Washington ruled out extending \u200ca temporary ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n Outward progress towards peace talks and a resumption of oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt, threatening to extend the conflict that the US and Israel launched with attacks on Iran on February 28.<\/p>\n “Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions,” the Iranian official said, adding that Tehran would conduct a “timely and precise” military \u200battack to break the US naval blockade if diplomacy failed.<\/p>\n The Islamabad memorandum of understanding<\/a> signed in June to end the war had given Iran and the US until Monday to reach a final \u200bpeace agreement.<\/p>\n Signed on June 17, the memorandum set a 60-day time frame for a broader deal on Iran’s nuclear programme and US sanctions.<\/p>\n Read: Iran threatens to go on offensive in Strait of Hormuz if diplomacy with US fails<\/a><\/p>\n The agreement, which declared \u2060the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts,” quickly unravelled over a dispute about control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied \u200bnatural gas flowed before the war.<\/p>\n Asked by reporters on Monday if the US was seeking to extend June’s interim agreement, US President Donald Trump said no.<\/p>\n Araghchi accuses Israel of sabotaging US-Iran ceasefire talks<\/p>\n Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of actively sabotaging diplomacy, saying the country was the primary obstacle to a lasting ceasefire deal with the US, according to the\u00a0IRNA news agency.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Zionist regime was and remains the biggest opponent and obstacle to the implementation of the memorandum of understanding. They made every effort to prevent such an agreement from being reached, every effort to make this agreement fail, and every effort to prevent it from being implemented,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Araghchi added that Trump\u2019s demand for an \u201cunconditional surrender\u201d from Iran failed to materialise, as Tehran ultimately accepted a ceasefire and conducted negotiations with the US on its own terms.<\/p>\n According to the report, Araghchi said those who \u201csought an unconditional surrender, within a short time of the war\u2019s commencement, were begging for negotiations\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was us who said we would not accept a ceasefire and continued the war until we reached a point where they accepted a ceasefire and negotiations on Iran\u2019s terms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s parliament speaker set to visit Iraq Wednesday for talks on regional developments<\/p>\n Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is set to visit Iraq on Wednesday for talks with Iraqi officials on regional developments and bilateral cooperation, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.<\/p>\n State broadcaster IRIB said Qalibaf\u2019s talks will focus on regional developments, strengthening strategic cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad, and exploring joint measures to help promote stability and security in West Asia.<\/p>\n The talks will also cover strengthening bilateral relations, border security, counterterrorism, expanding economic cooperation, and implementing agreements between the two countries.<\/p>\n Qalibaf, who is Iran\u2019s top negotiator in the talks with the US, is expected to meet senior Iraqi officials and other high-ranking figures during the visit, the outlet said.<\/p>\n His visit comes just days after a drone attack targeted the residence and private office of Masrour Barzani, the head of Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq. After the attack, Baghdad asked for an official clarification from Tehran. Iran denied involvement in the attack and condemned it.<\/p>\n Vessel struck by ‘unknown projectile’ in Strait of Hormuz: UKMTO<\/p>\n A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said early on Tuesday.<\/p>\n “The Company Security Officer has reported that the vessel was struck by an unknown projectile while conducting an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz. The impact caused damage to the engine room and resulted in a crew casualty,” it said in a statement.<\/p>\n The remaining crew members are being assisted by the Omani Coast Guard, UKMTO said<\/p>\n No environmental impact has been reported, while authorities are investigating the incident, it added.<\/p>\n UKMTO advised vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.<\/p>\n Back channel to IRGC<\/p>\n In one glimmer of diplomacy, media reports said \u200bTrump had opened back-channel discussions with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has become more powerful during the war and controls large parts of Iran’s armed forces and the economy.<\/p>\n Axios, citing two sources with direct knowledge, reported that former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard spoke with an Iraqi Kurdish leader with close ties to the IRGC, and that through this intermediary the US delivered a message to IRGC commander General Ahmad Vahidi. Fox News later reported that Trump confirmed \u200bthe report in a telephone interview.<\/p>\n The Trump administration was concerned about whether Iranian negotiators across the table actually spoke for the IRGC, Axios said, at a time when Reuters was reporting that Vahidi had become a \u200bpivotal figure. Vahidi responded that he was aligned with the Iranian negotiators, Axios said.<\/p>\n “I can’t go into the details of it, but I will say that the conversations between the U.S. government and different areas of the Iranian government at \u200call areas \u2060is probably more robust than it’s maybe ever been,” Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and special envoy, said in a separate interview with Fox News Channel\u2019s Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst on Monday.<\/p>\n Trump threatens to bomb Oman<\/p>\n Iran said point 5 of the Memorandum of Understanding gave it the right to manage the strait, which it shares with US ally Oman, while the US rejected that interpretation. Hostilities resumed as Iran began firing on vessels it said were trying to sail through Hormuz on an unapproved route, and Trump said on July 7 that the pact was “over.”<\/p>\n The Iranian official told Reuters the US must meet the entirety of the MoU’s provisions \u200bwithin a few weeks as a precondition for \u200bfurther negotiations.<\/p>\n
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