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Any US interference in new Hormuz regime is ceasefire violation: Iran lawmaker

Ebrahim Azizi, the spokesman for Iran's Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Comission.

A senior Iranian parliamentarian has warned that any US interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a direct violation of the ceasefire, dismissing President Donald Trump’s plan to escort ships through the waterway as “delusional.”

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s foreign policy and national security commission, made the remarks in a social media post on Sunday.

“Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire,” Azizi wrote.

“The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf would not be managed by Trump’s delusional posts! No one would believe blame game scenarios!”

Azizi’s warning came after Trump announced a plan for US forces to begin escorting ships through the strait on Monday, a waterway that has been largely blocked since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran on February 28.

Trump dubbed the maritime operation “Project Freedom,” describing it as a “humanitarian” gesture for crews aboard vessels that may be running low on food and other supplies due to the blockade.

He threatened that any interference with the US operation would “have to be dealt with forcefully.” It was not immediately clear which countries the operation would aid or how it would work.

Iran has maintained strict controls over the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched their unprovoked war on February 28, which included the assassination of Iran’s late Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and strikes on nuclear facilities, schools and hospitals.

Tehran has repeatedly stated that it has not closed the strait but has imposed a new regulatory framework requiring all vessels to obtain permission before transiting.

Iranian officials argue that the measures are a sovereign right to ensure maritime security in the face of aggression.

Iran has warned that it will not allow any ship affiliated with the aggressors or their supporters to exit the Persian Gulf without its permission.

While Iran has restricted passage, the United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, a move Tehran considers illegal under international law and a violation of the ceasefire brokered by Pakistan in early April.

Iranian officials have consistently called the blockade an act of “maritime piracy” and warned that any attempt to force the strait militarily would be met with a decisive response.

Trump claims ‘positive discussions’

Despite the heightened rhetoric, Trump claimed that the United States was conducting “very positive discussions” with Iran.

His statement made no mention of what Tehran described as a 14-point plan “focused on ending the war,” which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Washington had already responded to in a message to Pakistani mediators.

“We are reviewing this and will take whatever response is necessary regarding it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state television on Sunday.

According to Iranian media, Tehran’s 14-point proposal includes withdrawing US forces from nearby areas, lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, paying compensation, lifting sanctions, ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon, and creating a new control mechanism for the strait.

Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since the cessation of hostilities came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far.

Earlier on Sunday, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps warned Trump that he must choose between “an impossible operation” or a “bad deal” with the Islamic Republic.

Also on Sunday, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a warning: “The US is the only pirate in the world that possesses aircraft carriers. Our ability to confront pirates is no less than our ability to sink warships. Prepare to face a graveyard of your carriers and forces.”

Iran has repeatedly stated that regional security can only be ensured by regional countries, without foreign interference.


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