The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, has warned the United States that Tehran assumes absolute control over everything that happens in the Strait of Hormuz during the next 30 days of talks, according to its interpretation of the memorandum of understanding sealed this month with Washington. At the same time, he has accused the US side of violating the initial clause of the document, which obliges it to pressure Israel to withdraw completely from Lebanon.
Araqchi issued this message upon his arrival in Iraq, where he is making a one-day official visit, in a context of new exchanges of bombings with the United States and following an agreement between Lebanon and Israel that has been rejected by the Lebanese militia party Hezbollah, a key ally of Tehran, considering that it contradicts the text signed between Iran and the United States.
"Unfortunately, the Zionist entity continues its air attacks in Lebanon. The United States must live up to its responsibility, force Israel to end its attacks and withdraw from the areas it occupies in Lebanon, because it is the first clause of the memorandum."
This first section of the memorandum not only calls for an end to Israeli air attacks, but also imposes on the parties the obligation to find a formula that guarantees the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory. However, the pact signed on Friday between Lebanon and Israel is limited to mentioning a "gradual withdrawal" conditioned on the verification of an eventual disarmament of Hezbollah, something to which the armed formation refuses, understanding that it is an Israeli maneuver to leave Lebanon without defensive capacity.
Araqchi has also reiterated to Washington that "the Strait of Hormuz will remain under the total supervision and management of Iran for the next 30 days, and once all obstacles are removed, the full capacity of the waterway will be restored." As he stressed, the responsibility for what happens in this strategic passage falls exclusively on the Islamic Republic.
"There is no other party or state involved. This is made totally clear in the memorandum of understanding, and any intervention or unilateral action will aggravate the situation and delay the reopening of the strait," he warned.
Ceasefire monitoring commission in Lebanon
This very Sunday, the main Iranian negotiator and president of Parliament, Mohamed Baqer Qalifab, held a telephone conversation with his Lebanese counterpart, Nabih Berri, in which both agreed on the urgency for the monitoring commission agreed between the US and Iran to supervise the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon to begin operating without delay.
According to public radio and television IRIB, Qalibaf and Berri "emphasized the need to hold a meeting of the 'Conflict Control Unit' as soon as possible to control and end the war in Lebanon."
"Our goal is to end the war in Lebanon, return refugees to their homes, and achieve the withdrawal of the occupation and the Zionist regime from Lebanese territory, and we are addressing this issue seriously," Qalifab stated.
The president of the Lebanese Parliament, politically close to Tehran, has once again lashed out against the recent agreement reached between the Lebanese Executive and Israel, which he has openly described as an act of surrender by Beirut, considering that it overlooks the commitments set in the pre-agreement between the US and Iran and avoids unequivocally demanding Israel's withdrawal from the country.
"The agreement between Lebanon and the Zionist regime, under the terms dictated by the United States, is a conspiracy and an act of sedition, and sedition is worse than murder," Berri lamented.