Islamic Republic says its role over Strait of Hormuz 'non-negotiable'

Iran said it stopped implementing its commitments under a memorandum of understanding with the United States after Washington's actions, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei saying Tehran would only honor the agreement if the other side did the same.

"Iran remained committed to its obligations as long as the other side fulfilled its commitments," Baghaei said. "When the other side stopped implementing its commitments, we also said we would no longer implement ours."

Baghaei said an agreement retained its value only as long as both sides complied with their commitments, adding that otherwise it was "nothing more than a piece of paper."

Some Arab leaders are not Muslims despite claiming to be, an Iranian lawmaker said, accusing them of only pretending to pray to preserve their rule.

"Some Arab leaders claim to be Muslims, but in reality they are not. They merely go through the motions of prayer to keep their governments in power," Amir Hayat-Moghadam, a member of parliament's National Security Committee, told ILNA.

Hayat-Moghadam said he did not view many Arab leaders as Muslims, while distinguishing them from the people of their countries, whom he described as Muslims.

He said he hoped Arab populations would remove those leaders from power.

Hayat-Moghadam also warned that Iran would retaliate against Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia if attacks on Iran were launched from those countries, saying states hosting US military bases would bear the consequences.

Iran rejected reports that ambiguity in its memorandum of understanding with the United States contributed to renewed hostilities, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei saying the text was clear.

"The text of the memorandum is completely clear," Baghaei said, adding that “Washington had no basis for violating the agreement.”

Baghaei dismissed suggestions that differing interpretations of the 14-point memorandum had caused it to break down, saying the United States had not cited disagreements over the text or its interpretation as the reason for resuming attacks on Iran.

Iran has received proposals from mediators seeking to prevent a wider conflict, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.

“Diplomatic efforts have remained active in recent days, and we have received ideas from several mediators,” Baghaei said.

Baghaei said Iran would continue diplomatic efforts to halt US actions while its armed forces responded militarily.

Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected framing the country's options as a choice between negotiations and war, with spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei saying “diplomacy and defense serve the same national interests.”

"Insisting on the binary choice of negotiations or war is not useful for Iran. Diplomacy does not negate defense, and defense is not incompatible with diplomacy," Baghaei said.

Baghaei said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Majid Mousavi, commander of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, were “pursuing the same objective of safeguarding Iran's national interests, using diplomacy, defense or both simultaneously.”