The president of the Iranian Parliament, Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf, has issued a stern warning to the United States, stating that it will have to "pay the price" if it does not "keep its word" following the recent escalation of attacks between the two countries, triggered after a ship "ignored" the instructions of the Revolutionary Guard, something Tehran interprets as a violation of the memorandum of understanding signed.
"The era of unilateral deals is over. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking at the door," the Iranian leader stated, accompanying his message on social media with an image showing the text of point 5 of the memorandum.
Qalibaf has criticized Washington for having breached part of the pre-agreement reached in mid-June, the fifth section of which establishes that "Iran will take the necessary measures, doing everything possible, to ensure the safe passage of merchant ships, at no cost, for a period of 60 days only, from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa."
The words of the President of Parliament come after the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reported attacks against Iranian targets in response to the Revolutionary Guard's offensive against a merchant ship flying a Cypriot flag that allegedly disregarded its orders, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz "until further notice."
Subsequently, Iranian authorities have accused the United States of having carried out aerial bombings against several coastal facilities and telecommunications towers in Iran, and have defended "a forceful response" through retaliatory attacks against the Jordanian Prince Hassan air base — where they claim to have destroyed the control center and several hangars with drones and ballistic missiles — as well as against other bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
This exchange of attacks occurs at a particularly sensitive time for negotiations between Iran and the United States, following several days of cross-border bombings and in the face of a new ultimatum from Washington for Tehran to publicly announce the unrestricted reopening of the Strait of Hormuz this Saturday.