Qalibaf says he halted talks, warned of immediate strike after Israeli assault on Beirut’s Dahiyeh

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says he halted negotiations following the latest Israeli attack on Beirut’s Dahiyeh and said Iran will hit the regime immediately. Speaking at a gathering of cultural elites on Saturday, Qalibaf said, “In the latest attack on Dahiyeh, I halted the negotiations and announced: ‘Tonight, we will strike the regime, and if the regime responds, we will strike the entire region.’” He said the outcome was that “the blockade was lifted that same night.” The top Iranian negotiator also referred to talks over the Strait of Hormuz, saying a reopening had been scheduled for 30 days under an understanding. He said that after US President Donald Trump said on social media that the blockade and the Strait of Hormuz would be opened together “tonight,” he warned, “If the false claim about the Strait of Hormuz is not corrected, we will carry out an attack.” According to Qalibaf, Trump was forced to correct his post, which he described as an example of “negotiating as a form of fighting.” Iran warns any mistake will turn region into ‘hell’ for US-Israeli ‘evil coalition’ Iran’s top security official has warned the “evil coalition” of the United States and Israel that the region will turn into hell for them should another mistake occur. He also pointed out that the Resistance Front and Lebanon were included in the first clause of the Memorandum of Understanding reached between Iran and the United States. On July 17, Iran and the US signed the 14-point Pakistan-brokered MoU, which calls for a permanent end to hostilities across all fronts, including Lebanon, as well as the removal of the naval blockade on Iran within 30 days, and the restoration of commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The United States and Israel launched their second war of aggression against Iran in less than a year on February 28, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and several top commanders and officials with the declared aim of overthrowing the Islamic Republic. However, the Iranian Armed Forces’ firm response forced the aggressors to agree to a ceasefire forty days after they launched the war.