Strait of Hormuz is leverage in talks over frozen assets, Iran MP says
Ali Khezrian, a member of Iran’s parliament said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz could be used as leverage in negotiations with other countries over Iran’s frozen funds, adding that passage for ships could be made conditional on any agreement.
Khezrian said in an interview with state television that Iran’s power and influence had led some regional countries, despite being traditional US allies, to oppose Washington’s use of their military bases.
Iran’s Defence Ministry spokesperson on Monday rejected comments by US President Donald Trump claiming Iran’s defensive capabilities have been destroyed, saying parts of the country’s military capacity have not yet been used and that the “axis of resistance” is more cohesive than ever.
Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, told Yemen’s Al Masirah TV that Trump “does not stop making false claims” about Iran’s military strength.
“The prestige of the United States has collapsed at the hands of our forces,” Talaei-Nik said.
US President Donald Trump on Monday shared on Truth Social a statement by conservative commentator Mark Levin originally published on X on March 4, in which Levin defended expansive presidential war powers and criticized the 1973 War Powers Act.
Levin argued that no US president has accepted the law’s constitutionality, saying it has been treated as a violation of the separation of powers. He also said Congress uses the act as a political tool depending on which party holds the White House, and pointed to the Constitution’s distinction between Congress’s power to “declare” war and the president’s role as commander-in-chief.
Oil prices dropped more than 2% in early Asian trading on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said he paused a planned attack on Iran to allow time for negotiations aimed at ending the conflict, according to Reuters.
Brent crude futures for July delivery fell $3.01, or 2.7%, to $109.09 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June delivery dropped $1.38, or 1.3%, to $107.28. The benchmarks had hit their highest levels since early May and late April in the previous session.
Analysts said markets were watching whether the move signals de-escalation or a temporary reprieve in tensions.
US Senator Lindsey Graham said on Monday any agreement between the United States and Iran must be submitted to Congress for approval, adding it should follow the precedent of the JCPOA under former President Barack Obama.
"As I have said before, President Trump’s position is clear: No enrichment American control of the approximately 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium .The opening of the Strait of Hormuz without interference from Iran. Iran must abandon its long-range ballistic missile program and any effort to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran must end its support for all terrorists proxies in the region. But to say that I am skeptical that Iran will actually agree to the things necessary to make the deal substantially different than the JCPOA or enter into a deal that will withstand the test of time is an understatement. Time will tell," Graham posted on X.
Centre for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr Mehmet Oz, Heidi Overton and Mark Cuban listen as US President Donald Trump delivers remarks about health care costs and affordability from an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, DC, US, May 18, 2026
US President Donald Trump said the United States confronted Iran because it was determined to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, adding that Washington “ended up destroying” Iranian forces after encountering resistance.
"I said, we're going to take a little excursion down to the Middle East, and we're going to confront Iran, because they are desperate to have a nuclear weapon, and the only reason they wanted is to use it, and I said that's I hate to do this because we're doing so well, but this is the most important thing we can do. We can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon, so we did that, and when we did that, we were met with a little force, and we ended up destroying them. We now have a tremendous, we built really a steel wall where no boats, the blockade, where no boats are able to, not one boat has been able to get through our blockade. Look, our military is the greatest military anywhere in the world. I just left China, and I will say, President Xi was very, very complimentary of our military. He was amazed, actually, at our military. We have the greatest military in the world. We're not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon, so I was called by these three countries, plus others, and they're dealing directly with our people, and right now Iran, and there seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I'd be very happy," Trump said.
