MP challenges Hormuz fee waiver over Israeli shipping

The spokesman for parliament’s National Security Committee criticized continued International Atomic Energy Agency inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying they violated a law suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

Ebrahim Rezaei wrote on X that parliament would resist what he described as violations of the law and surrender.

“Parliament will stand against lawbreaking and capitulation,” he said.

Tehran’s interim Friday prayer leader said Iran’s support for Hezbollah last week carried several messages, including what he described as a display of unity across the so-called “Resistance Front.”

Ahmad Khatami told worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran that what Iranian officials say about war is not rhetoric and is implemented in practice.

He described the United States and Israel as untrustworthy, saying they do not understand negotiation or ceasefires and only understand force.

The head of communications, media and cultural affairs at Iran’s parliament said the same strategic command guides both negotiations with the United States and the military field, after Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he had approved the understanding despite opposing it.

Iman Shamsaei described Khamenei’s message as a sign of democracy, arguing that the decision showed political responsibility rather than one-man rule.

“The negotiation war room is the same as the battlefield war room,” he said, adding that any threat would face a rapid response.

Khamenei earlier said he had agreed to implement the understanding with Washington after President Masoud Pezeshkian accepted responsibility for safeguarding Iran’s rights.

Qom Friday prayer leader Mohammad Saeedi said Iranian officials would not accept what he called illegal US demands if Washington pursued excessive demands under the memorandum with Iran.

Speaking in Friday prayers in Qom, Saeedi said Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s message had emphasized protecting the country’s rights and the so-called “Resistance Front,” adding that this would now shape public expectations and judgment of the agreement.

Saeedi said Iranians, despite their experience of what he described as US bad faith, were emphasizing unity out of respect for Khamenei’s position and hoped the other side would uphold its commitments.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters that Iran had informed the group that talks with the United States could not continue without a comprehensive ceasefire, tying the US-Iran diplomatic track to the fighting in Lebanon.

Fadlallah said Lebanon’s government should reject direct negotiations with Israel as long as Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue.