Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian side's head of the end-of-war negotiating team and speaker of parliament, said on the 30th (local time) that toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz for those who do not pay transit fees will be allowed only for 60 days while end-of-war talks with the United States are underway.
In a national TV interview that day, Speaker Ghalibaf said, "According to the end-of-war memorandum of understanding (MOU), toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz is allowed only for 60 days."
He added, "This is at the strong request of countries in the region and the Persian Gulf littoral states, and is mainly a measure for ships that were trapped in the area due to the blockade of the strait when the war broke out."
Ghalibaf went on to say, "Sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz lies with Iran and Oman, and while we consult with the Persian Gulf littoral states, passage through the strait must be carried out entirely in accordance with the methods and procedures determined by Iran."
He emphasized, "Since the Strait of Hormuz is Iran's territorial waters, Iran will never relinquish its rights over the strait under any circumstances."
Regarding the status of talks with the United States, Ghalibaf said, "Our negotiations with the United States proceeded only up to the signing of the memorandum of understanding, and there are no negotiations underway at present," adding, "The visit to Switzerland was also to discuss implementation of the five MOU provisions, and we will not hold additional talks until the conditions of the memorandum are met."
He said, "We consider the incidents that have taken place in the Persian Gulf in recent days to be violations of the end-of-war agreement and will respond firmly," adding, "In recent cases of truce violations, U.S. military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait became (our) targets."
He warned, "This process shows we are sincere about implementing the agreement. We are engaged in dialogue, and if the other side is unwilling to fulfill its promises, we are ready to go to war."
Ghalibaf argued, "The end-of-war memorandum of understanding is a document that proves the defeat of the United States and Israel. The Zionist regime (Israel) opposes it, and after it was signed, it launched a massive attack on Lebanon and tried to seize some key positions to scuttle the agreement."
He said, "Because of these incidents, we headed to Switzerland. The main agenda we pursued there was a truce in Lebanon," adding, "As a result of follow-up measures, the scale of attacks on Lebanon has decreased to an incomparable degree compared with before."
He also said that while not a single barrel of oil could be exported during the U.S. maritime blockade, about 40 million barrels of crude were sold after it was lifted, adding, "Some say the lifting of sanctions is nothing but an empty promise, but the sanctions have actually been lifted, Iranian crude is being sold at prices 20% higher, and the proceeds are being deposited into accounts."