Pezeshkian, Pakistan PM discuss Hormuz, regional strikes

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Friday that negotiations with the United States should be conducted only by those prepared for war, warning that Tehran would respond if Washington violated its understanding with Iran.

Speaking during a meeting with Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly Speaker Ahmad Muzani, Ghalibaf said he had told the US vice president during negotiations that Tehran had no trust in Washington.

Ghalibaf said Iran had never abandoned its defense preparedness and would stand firmly against the United States if it betrayed the agreement.

He said the United States, Israel and NATO had failed to force Iran into surrender during the recent war, adding that the conflict would not end with Iran giving in.

US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Tammy Bruce told an emergency Security Council session that Washington remained open to diplomacy with Iran, but warned talks could not continue while Tehran was breaching basic obligations.

“While dialogue remains possible, the US can’t negotiate while Iran reneges on simple obligations, like don’t shoot on civilian objects. If you shoot at civilian objects or ships, we will respond,” Bruce said, adding that “President Trump prefers peace.”

Bruce said Iran had violated international law and Security Council resolutions, arguing that such actions “cannot be met with council equivocation and obstruction.”

A source close to Iran’s negotiating team denied media reports that Tehran and Washington were preparing to hold a new round of talks next week, the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency reported.

The source told Fars that claims about finalized preparations for talks in Islamabad and continued technical discussions next week were false and had no factual basis.

The source added that any developments in the negotiation process would be announced only through official channels of the Islamic Republic.

"No negotiations will be held until the Trump administration fulfills its commitments," said Mohammad Marandi, a member of the Islamic Republic’s delegation in Islamabad talks.

Influential hardline politician Saeed Jalili said avenging Ali Khamenei’s killing was the nation’s right and the authorities’ duty, in remarks seen as one of the first public signs of a rift within Iran’s leadership in the post-Khamenei era.

“What kind of revenge is this? Why is our nation calling for a great revenge? This nation wants to defend its rights,” Jalili told a group of Khamenei mourners in Mashhad.

“If you seek the release of frozen assets, know that the Iranian nation’s greatest asset was its leader. Today, our nation has the right to seek revenge. And it is the authorities’ duty to pursue this revenge. Revenge is the nation’s right and the authorities’ duty.”

A Qatari delegation visited Iran on Friday in an effort to ease tensions and strengthen Doha’s role as a mediator following the latest escalation between Tehran and Washington, according to reports.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency said the visit followed what it described as Qatari accusations against Iran over an incident in the Strait of Hormuz and subsequent US attacks on Iranian military and civilian targets.

A source familiar with the talks told Reuters that Qatari negotiators were meeting Iranian officials to de-escalate tensions and create conditions for broader negotiations, adding that the effort was being coordinated with Washington.